


(Like the moon) I'll sway the tide and lead you astray

by chamiryokuroi, ThatOneGirlBehindYou



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies), Tangled: The Series (Cartoon)
Genre: Crack Treated Seriously, Crossover, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, M/M, Multi, Pirates, Slow Burn, Vikings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-29
Updated: 2019-05-18
Packaged: 2019-07-04 08:40:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 47,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15837708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chamiryokuroi/pseuds/chamiryokuroi, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatOneGirlBehindYou/pseuds/ThatOneGirlBehindYou
Summary: Sometimes you find what you need when you're least looking for it.Sometimes what you need mounts an organized raid on your ship armed with mythological creatures, throws you in prison for a while and is very bad at catching the hints that you'd be very into a hate-sex session with him.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> HELLO EVERYONE THIS IS ME ENGAGING INTO A NEW MULTICHAPTER BECAUSE I'VE LOST CONTROL OF MY LIFE
> 
> This is (yet) another collaboration between me and Chams, as usual she has the art part and I have the part where I procrastinate a lot about typing words. 
> 
> Anyways, this is our ship, enjoy!
> 
> I'm gonna (try to) post a chapter every two weeks but I'm soft and anxious so don't hate me if I miss a deadline blease

**1.1: Overconfident vikings, and a _very_ sore loser**

Varian woke up to the sound of someone’s screams, and he groaned.

Granted, travelling with pirates -technically _being_ one- this wasn´t remotely a new situation but fuck, wasn´t it a bad way to start the day?

He rose from the rickety cot -gone were the days of luxurious feather mattresses and well-lit chambers in Old Corona- and patted Ruddiger´s bottom to wake the animal up. He looked at himself in the ornate mirror he´d pilfered himself during the raid on a seaside village near Arendelle, one of the few luxuries he allowed himself since he´d joined the band of misfits.

The screaming continued, and he sighed.

Had he always had these many freckles, or was it a result of being exposed to the sun for five years? His hair needed a trim too, he decided as he tied it behind his nape with a leather strip, and grabbed his knife to shave the beginnings of stubble on his chin.

That was when the ship lurched sideways and Varian had to let go of his knife or risk slitting his own throat. Who the FUCK was steering this shit?!

Varian headed up to the deck with heavy, determined steps and a fluffed up and snarling Ruddiger. Whoever it was, they were going to get a piece of his damned-

He slammed against something large, solid and… scaly?

The crew was still screaming, but Varian could also distinguish heavy roars and the smell of sulfur now, and feel wind currents against his skin that changed in the span of seconds, like _something_ was forcing itself on the air. He drew his sword as the form he´d collided with moved to face him, and he found himself face to face with a reptilian maw full of knife-sharp teeth as long as his forearm.

He then decided to stop and take a better look at his current situation.

The creature before him was enormous, with two chests but only four legs? Covered in green scales speckled randomly with copper tones, and when he looked down, two tails were beginning to wrap around his boots, corralling Ruddiger against him even as it scratched and bit at it to no avail. Just then, a second snarl behind him made him turn, and he found another head, this one with poisonous-looking green gas dripping from its jaws.

What. The. Fuck.

“Are they all secured?” asked a voice by the mast, and Varian looked over in time to see a tall brown-haired man in dark armor.

“Got another one here chief!” a rough voice yelled. The first beast´s maws closed behind Varian, lifting him by the back of his shirt even as the second one lifted Ruddiger. “Where d´ya want ´im?”

Varian heard a slap, and a second, only slightly less raspy voice replied “With the rest of them you fishbrain, are you even thinking?”

“Who asked you, dragonbreath!?” However, the beast -whatever it was- carried Varian and Ruddiger to where the rest of the crew was gathered bound and gagged, around the mast.

“Huh. A bit skinny for a pirate isn´t he?” this was an imposing blond woman, her hair flowing elegantly in the wind around her beautiful round face. Which was liberally splattered in blood.

“In my experience, those are the ones you have to watch out for” said the brown haired man from before, and he gave Varian´s shoulder a rough pull to free him from the animal´s grip, before abruptly wrenching his arms behind him. He felt a coil of rope begin to wrap around his wrists, and quickly balled his fists. “We tend to be smarter”

By the time they´d pushed him against the pirate pile, Varian had already slipped a hand out of the ropes. 

“You also tend to be more reckless and idiotic” the woman punched the man´s shoulder with an expression of undeniable fondness, but Varian didn´t pay them too much attention, busy as he was covering himself with Sarlan´s body to hide his hand reaching for the knife tucked in his boot.

Varian waited until the tall man replied, and he struck. He stabbed at the monstrous head holding Ruddiger, and missed by an inch as the beast recoiled but let go of the racoon as a result. 

“Whoa, we got a slippery one!” a lanky man with dirty blond hair hopped off the two headed monster’s back, and made a grab for Varian, who waited for the tell-tale yell after Ruddiger sank his little sharp fangs into the would-be attacker’s leg, and used the moment to topple him over and rest his knife against his neck.

He looked up in time to see the barbarians and their monstrous montures freeze almost in unison, and he pressed a little on the knife. 

“I want to talk to whoever of you imbeciles is the leader" he said, dripping icy serenity in every syllable. As he expected, the tall brown haired man stepped forward. He did not expect, however, the mechanical-looking contraption acting as his left calf and foot. “May I know the name of the man who was stupid enough to attempt to catch the Alchemist of the Sea?”

Varian most definitely didn't expect -or was pleased by- the man to just confidently stand before him, with an amused smile in his lips. The blonde woman's dark chuckle was also worrying.

“My name is Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third” the man -Hiccup? What kind of ridiculous name was that?- started “Chief of Berk” he added, as if the weird, barbaric name meant something to Varian “Master of Dragons”

And just as Varian was about to cackle -dragons, really? The stuff of children's tales? These abominations were clearly mutated reptiles, but by no means were there real dragons out and about- he heard a deep purring sound, and turned to look directly into a pair of crystalline green eyes with slit pupils.

And then he's tackled to the ground by mountain of scaly muscle, face inches from dozens of sharp teeth and gagging in the foul-smelling breath.

Everything happens too fast after that; Varian takes a look at his pet, at his crew, at the monster -dragon?- holding him, and he decides they've lost. As if reading his mind, Ruddiger hops onto the beast's face, clawing wildly at its eyes, and Varian reaches into his belt for his last resource. The delicate crystal bubble feels brittle in his hand, and he aims it as far away from him as he can.

“I hope you enjoyed your short-lived victory, chief” he says, projecting as much sarcastic deference as he can into the title, before throwing the sphere.

Every eye on deck follows it; the invaders look confused, the crew looks terrified, and Varian knows they're connecting the dots and realized he's using their last resort, and what that means.

The bubble cracks on impact, and the glowing red liquid spills and is quickly absorbed by the wood of the ship. It takes a few seconds, enough for one of the oafs -the big, blond one built like an ox- to take a couple dubious steps towards it, and then it begins.

Varian designed the reaction to be fast, to spread wide and to react differently to distinct materials, so when the wood begins hardening and taking on the shimmering glint of metal, it spreads in seconds from where the bubble smashed, but it's ascent up the man's leg is much slower. Varian smiles a little at his creation; what good is sinking your ship and its invaders with it, if they don't feel every second pass as they drown?

“What in Hel- Snoutloud, get Fishlegs!” Hiccup yells, and he's running towards his beast, who -Varian snarls- has Ruddiger squeezed between it's jaws. “Ruff, Tuff, the prisoners! Astrid-”

“I got him chief" the blonde woman speaks, suddenly next to Varian. He turns in time to see a fist flying at his face, and then everything goes black.

**1.2: The little town in the cliffs**

Bìhn had been a part of the Chrysopoeia’s crew for around four years now. His first vessel, the Wailing Widow, had been amongst the first Captain Varian attacked after formally -or informally? How formal is a mutiny, really?- disposing of the Chrysopoeia’s last captain.

He remembers the raid like it was yesterday, this beardless child, barely old enough to be called a man, commanding his crew. Varian fought with a peculiar style, almost trained, Bìhn suspected, but no noble would take such pleasure in the act of killing.

Finally Captain Dormand, his first mate and a bunch of surviving crewmen -Bìhn amongst them- had been shepherded down into a strip of land in the middle of the sea, and the little captain had splashed them with some sort of foul smelling fluid that quickly swole and hardened until it was encasing them all, neck to toe.

It had taken them seven hours to break through it, and Bìhn had made up his mind by then.

When Captain Dormand had announced they'd be hunting them down, Bìhn had agreed instantly, albeit with his own reasons in mind.

It was those same reasons that drove Bìhn to sneak into the pub the young Captain was drinking at, and warn him of the ambush for the lowly price of a place in his crew.

In four years, he had _never_ seen Captain Varian as furious as when he woke up in the dungeons.

The little town was nice in a way nice little towns often were: nothing of value to steal, and people that looked at you warily but wouldn't lift a finger unless you did first, and Bìhn thought he would've quite liked it if they hadn't been immediately thrown into a jailhouse comprised of three stinky cells with straw floors and arm-thick iron bars.

They separate the crew in half, and put them in two of the cells. He gives them some credit, for leaving the Captain alone and manacled on the third one. It's not like it will help if they don't strip him of literally every single vial he has in his person -and he has A LOT- but they're trying.

“So what are we doing with them?” He hears the blonde woman -Astrid, he remembers- ask.

“We need to keep him here, at least" Hiccup, the leader, responds. “I don't know what in Hel it is he did to Fishlegs, but he must know. I'm going to make him reverse it”

“And on the meanwhile?” She asks again. She sounds comfortable with the chief, and Bìhn guesses years of familiarity in her tone.

An exasperated sigh comes from the chief, and then a response. “Take the twins. Fly over to Heather and the Defenders of the Wing, and ask if they know anything about them. If they don't, warn them our waters might be under attack.”

The woman huffs. “I'm not too keen in leaving you alone with him”

“Snout’s here” the chief says

“I stand by my previous statement” Astrid replies. Her voice conveys a level of snark that Bìhn finds himself thinking he'd like to befriend this woman.

“Charming” he can hear the eyerolling in the chief's reply. “Stormfly’s fast. Send the twins to Heather and go to Dagur and Mala by yourself if you don't want to waste any time. I trust you”

He hears a dry sound like something hard colliding with something padded, and a few seconds later the woman comes by his cell. She gives them a warning glare as she passes, before the jailhouse door slams shut behind her.

This is going to be… Interesting.

**1.3: Bad family news are still family news right?**

It is, as usual, intoxicating. The clash of metal against metal, the pump of adrenaline, and the labored breathing.

Altogether, it makes the blood in his veins run like molten lava, and he cackles even as the sharp edge of a blade comes to rest against his neck.

"It appears to me you have been bested, King Dagur" says her voice, low and dangerous and bringing even more warmth through his entire body. 

"What does the Warrior Queen demand as thrall then?" He asks, feeling a smirk spread over his lips.

The blade turns so that it’s the flat of it pressed on his neck, and pushes until Dagur is flat on his back on the ground. Mala's weight as she climbs over him is familiar and welcome, and Dagur's smile only grows wider as he sees her exercise-flushed face and her own smirk.

"Why, a kiss, and your presence in her chambers" she says, and leans in for the first part-

"Do you two actually know you can spar without dragging the other to the dormitory after every time?" A flat voice interrupts them.

Astrid is standing by the edge of the sparring field with her dragon behind her and an unimpressed expression.

Dagur cackles, and pulls his queen down for the owed kiss before they both scramble to their feet.

"To each their own, little sister" he says, wiping the sweat off his brow "it's not our fault you prefer to throw my brother over your back than into your bed"

"Swords and axes are a shield maiden's true love" Astrid smiles, and pulls him into a rough embrace. Dagur pats her back a couple times, before allowing her to move on to hug Mala "I'm happy to see you are well"

"Why wouldn't we be?" Asks Mala. One of her perfect, strong eyebrows arches, and Dagur can practically see her going into her queenly stance. Meanwhile, he notices Astrid's shoulders growing tense, and he unconsciously tightens his grip on his weapon.

"We found pirates on our waters" Astrid says "We took the ship, but-"

"... But?" Dagur rasps out, feeling a bundle of nerves start forming in his stomach. Why is she here instead of Hiccup? 

"The captain is a sorcerer" she says with heavy finality. Dagur feels the fear congeal within himself. There hasn't been sorcerers in these lands since his forefathers founded the clan. The power and destruction they unleashed is still sung of today. "He turned his ship to lead, and Fishlegs' leg as well"

"What?!" Mala exclaims, and just like that all playfulness, all joy at seeing their estranged friend was lost. "Does he live?"

"He does, but the metal is still creeping up his flesh, and he loses more sensibility by the minute" Astrid turns to look Dagur in the eye. "Hiccup is well. He watches over the sorcerer, and asked me to come and warn you. We don't know where they come from, or if they have allies that will look for them"

"We're grateful" Dagur grunts "Do you need more warriors at Berk? More-"

"We can't spare many, if we're expecting an attack" Mala cuts him short. Dagur looks over at her; while Dagur knows combat, Mala knows war, and he'll defer to her in this matter. "We can send three warriors if you can provide them with dragons, to cover for fishlegs and strengthen your patrols while you ready your backup guards"

Astrid nods "That's very generous, we can use all the help you can give us"

"Dagur will pick them out for you, I need to meet with the council" Mala sheates her sword "Thank you for the warning Astrid. The Hooligan Clan stands not alone"

"If we find any more news, we'll send someone to pass it on" Astrid sighs. "I hope this is just the one ship, but with this man and his magic... I feel like we'd better be prepared. Shall we?" She asks, turning towards Dagur.

Dagur nods and plasters on a smile. If anything, making light of a situation was something he’s good at.

"Sooo... Could I interest you in some fine Defender men, little sister?"

Astrid smiles back, small but amused "You can certainly try"

**1.4: These Vikings have no idea…**

To be quite honest, Annie finds the vikings adorable.

She likes them on principle, just as she liked the pirates the first time she saw them. Everything and anything that's different from the stiff necks at her father's estate is refreshing.

Sometimes she wonders if they're still looking for her, still believing the _dreadful_ pirates kidnapped and murdered her.

It makes her chuckle.

“Gotta admit Captain” she calls, leaning on the bars. Her cellmates are gathered by the back of the cell, talking to the rest of the crew through a gap between bricks. “Makes a girl wonder, how you got the best cell for yourself"

“What can I say Annie. It seems even these animals recognize rank, unlike a certain someone I know” comes Varian’s voice from the cell across the hall, and Annie chuckles. It's fun, this little thing she has with the Captain, the mutual ribbing and the unspoken agreement to not talk about their pasts.

He never mentions the manor or how, when they broke in to steal the very last coin out of her father's pocket they found her changing into a servant's uniform.

Even now, Annie can't tell if it was bad or good timing, that they happened to attack on the very same night she'd decided she was _not_ marrying Lord Sherrinford’s son and gathered up her courage to escape.

He mentions the stubbornness with which she followed them until they allowed her into the Chrysopoeia, the swiftness with which Annie took to life in the sea and the wolf-like taste for blood she found after her first killing,and Annie is grateful.

She doesn't mention a lot of things in return. Not the way his steps overbalance to compensate for the swinging of the ship are identical to the elegant waltz she was taught from childhood. Not how his posture is always impeccable, the curve of his spine and neck giving him the edge he needs to look down on even people bigger than himself.

Annie knows she's not the only escaped noble on board the Chrysopoeia, and sometimes she wonders if that's the reason why Varian agreed to take her in after only perfunctory nagging.

If so, it's sweet.

“Or maybe they just know to give more space to the one with the giant stick up his ass eh?”

“Fuck off”

Yep. Sweet.

In any case, these Vikings have no idea who they're messing with, and she can't wait to see the little village burning smaller and smaller as they sail away in whatever ship they will turn into the new Chrysopoeia.

“Uh… what are you smiling about?” A rough, slightly nasal voice breaks her out of her reverie, and Annie's smile grows a tad wider as she spots the speaker. The man is tall, broad shouldered and wearing a helmet with curled black horns over his dark brown hair, and looks suitably unnerved when she turns her smile on him. “So?”

“Ah, just making bets with myself on how long it will be before we escape” Annie shrugs. “Is that for me handsome?” She gestures to the tray he's holding, laden with steaming bowls of soup “win a hungry girl over with food, smart boy” and she winks.

She can hear Bìhn snickering on the cell next to hers, and Zulka pops a few teasing kisses behind her. The man looks nervous and flustered, and it's amusing to see that look on a guy his size.

“I'm just- shut up” and he bends over to place the tray on the rough wooden floor “Be grateful we're feeding you, you bunch of lowlifes”

Annie holds back a delighted chuckle, and decides to use the name she heard the chief call earlier “Mmmm have I been mean Sir Snout?” she purrs, looming over him as he rises, and slides a hand between the bars until her fingers are grazing his chestplate “Are you going to set me right?”

Just as she expected, his face goes and indignant shade of red. He's sputtering out a comeback, when Annie turns her hand into a claw and hooks her fingers into the neckhole.of the armor to slam the unsuspecting man against the bars.

“The stew better be good, or when we break out of here and slice the throats of every single man woman and child in this disgusting shitpile excuse of a town, I'm going to look for you, and I'm gonna feed you a nice chunk of your intestines before I leave you to bleed” she hisses

The man’s face is a study in changes. He pales, then frowns and gapes like a fish, then goes red, then his bitten, dry lips crack a pained smile.

“You're fucking crazy” and he pulls away from her and darts down the hall towards the door. 

Annie laughs. The stew is passable, and she thinks this might actually be an interesting place to be stuck at.

**1.5 A mother worries, but an alpha watches**

“That´s a long face if I´ve seen one” says Gobber, coming to a halt by her side. Valka nods once, curtly. “Is it because of the pirates?”

“I´ve seen pirates before Gobber” she says after a moment of tense silence. “These are different. Especially that captain they´ve got”

“You seen him yet?” Gobber asks with surprise. Valka shrugs. She´s no chief now that Hiccup has taken the mantle, no alpha now that Toothless has climbed the hierarchy, but this is still her territory, and she´s not about to let this danger in without keeping a watchful eye on them.

These men and women are rough and jagged like the dragons she rescued from Drago´s grasp, ready to snap and spit first and ask questions later, if at all. The captain, however, is different.

She´d rescued a Death Song once. It was locked down, chained neck and claws and wings in one of Drago´s mainland lairs, had been dragged away to a corner by the guards and fed from a distance, thrown carcasses sliced small enough that it could chomp them down through its muzzled maws.

Valka and Cloudjumper had killed the men, but when Valka tried to approach the bound dragon to open the locks, Cloudjumper had held her back. Valka noticed the Death Song´s eyes following her closely, its body tense and immobile, and Valka understood it was waiting for the moment to pounce, freed from its captors and not willing to be taken again.

In the end, Cloudjumper had pushed Valka out the cave, and sliced at the other dragon´s chains before flying out. Valka had been worried about leaving the chained dragon to die, but Cloudjumper hadn´t allowed her to go back in, and after an hour or so, the Death Song had emerged, a torn chain still hanging off its back leg, and taken wing. 

This delicate looking man was bound and gagged, but he was not by any mean defenseless, and she wouldn´t allow Hiccup to forget it. 

There´s a saying amongst vikings: a downed dragon is a dead dragon

Valka has lived amongst dragons long enough to know the error in those words. 

A trapped dragon is a dragon willing to kill, or die trying.

“I´ve seen him” she reiterates, eyes fixed on the prison. “And I don´t think we´re being careful enough”

“What? Valka, he´s behind bars” Gobber frowns at him “He´s bound tighter than a pig to a roasting stick, that rat´s not going anywhere”

“That´s what worries me Gobber” Valka says, and goes silent again

**1.6 As far as prisons go…**

This is a nice one, Hans thinks. 

Granted, Hans is willing to think most things are nice.

He runs his eyes over his cellmates, satisfied at the lack of serious injuries he finds there, and demands that the crewmates in the other cell report their wellbeing as well, before stepping closer to the bars.

“Captain?” he calls. One of the vikings, the loud, sturdy one Annie scared this evening, turns to look at him. Hans ignores him.

“What´s the status Hans?” the Captain calls back, and Hans relaxes immediately at the hint of amusement in his voice.

“No serious wounds” he informs “Are you ok sir?” he´d seen the blonde woman knock him out with a well placed punch, and nerves still crawled around in his stomach.

“Fit as a fiddle. I´ll have a nice black eye tomorrow, I think”

Hans smiles, curiosity quenched. He´s learned to read the words the Captain isn´t saying, and so far it´s an ability that´s kept him alive. With a bit of luck the trend will continue.

He still remembers the first time he saw the Captain, back when he was just Varian.

It had been a few years since he´d joined Caine´s crew after his sister´s death. The pirates were a cold and impersonal sort, but Hans hadn´t been looking to forge new relationships. Not again. Then, they´d blown open a cell from the royal dungeons, and in had come this scrawny, malnourished teen that always kept his back to the wall and his hand to his pocket.

Varian overcompensated at first, being rougher than was needed, more violent, more crass than the others. Luckily for him, they found him funny rather than offensive, and the crew began to like him as he started relaxing around them.

Sometimes Hans would go up on the deck at night, seeking a bit of fresh air after being cooped up in the kitchen for a full day. Most of those days he was alone. Some, he wasn´t.

He can see it as if it had been yesterday, the lithe figure profiled by the moonlight, sitting on the ship´s railing and swinging back and forth with the movement of the vessel. Hans usually left when he saw him, but sometimes it was a boring night, sometimes he´d had leftovers from dinner, and didn´t fancy throwing it to the fish, sometimes he´d needed the company.

“You´re easy to talk to Hans” Varian had said, munching on the stale waybread he´d been handed. “You know when to listen”

And Hans had smiled. It was the same thing Sabine used to say when she was younger, before the sickness took her mind away.

The night before the mutiny, Varian had come into his quarters. He´d looked sullen and anxious, and Hans, who knew when to listen, had placed a platter of leftover dried meat on the table, and waited.

“Don´t come out tomorrow” was all Varian had said, and he´d left with a piece of meat in shaky hands.

The next day he heard it all from the commodity of his barred door. Caine screaming. Those few who were truly loyal to her fighting, and dying, and falling off the side of the ship.

The new Captain had come by his quarters that night as well. He was still streaked in blood, and he looked for all in the world like the cat that caught the canary and had no idea what to do with it.

Hans handed him the list he´d been composing, and the Captain regarded it warily.

“These are the supplies I´ll need for the kitchen, when we next touch port. I suggest it´s anywhere between tomorrow and the end of this week” Hans said, and the Captain´s shoulders had sagged in relief.

“I´ll see to it. Food as usual tomorrow”

“Yes Captain”

And that had been that.

Hans knows it´s only a matter of time before they get back on course, but until then it´s nice to not have to worry about cooking. Still…

“Did they feed you?”

At this, the Captain finally laughs openly. “Yes, but nothing compared to your magic I´m afraid” 

And Hans agrees, pushing the mostly untouched stew away from himself.

**1.7 I´ve never been a violent man (but oh, I´m so close to starting now)**

The twins had come back, as well as Astrid. The Berserker tribe had been warned, and Dagur and Mala -Odin bless them- had sent Astrid back with three warriors as backup, to help patrol during Fishleg´s recovery.

Fishlegs…

The thought of his friend makes his blood start to boil, and Hiccup squares his shoulders as he walks into the prison again. 

“You going to the Captain?” asks Snoutlout, and Hiccup nods “I had to gag him. He kept threatening me and the other guards and to be honest, it was getting kinda unnerving” 

Hiccup sighs “Should´ve done that the moment we brought him in” and moves forward. Toothless slithers in as well, his frame only slightly too large for the hallway, and follows him to the lone cell on the right.

The pirate´s amused eyes follow his every movement as Hiccup unlatches the door and walked in. Toothless tries to follow again, but he´s simply too big, and has to content himself with blocking the door with just his head in the cell.

Hiccup makes his way to the chair the man is tied to, and makes a movement to remove his gag. The man doesn´t even flinch, and Hiccup hates his confidence.

“Pleased to have you, Chief” the man says as soon as Hiccup removes the cloth gag from his mouth. “I´m afraid I didn´t have the chance to prepare, or I´d offer you a se-”

“Save it” Hiccup interrupts him, and the man´s eyes light up in glee. Hiccup fees his frustration grow “What is your name?”

“You may address me as Captain”

Toothless snarls, and Hiccup leans until his face is inches apart from the pirate, sneering in that way he learned from Astrid, the one that provokes her enemies into senseless charging.

“I will do no such thing, seeing that you have no ship and are, more importantly, a prisoner” he says, and his free hand brings a dagger to rest against the man´s neck. “Name. Now”

“My, no need to get that out” the man rolls his eyes, and Hiccup wants to punch his teeth off as he smiles again “I suppose you can call me Varian then”

A mainland name? On a pirate? Hiccup pushes the thoughts away from his mind, he has something more pressing to tend to.

“Well Varian” he presses the knife slightly deeper against Varian´s neck, only stopping when he feels skin starting to break “You´re going to tell me how to fix whatever it is you did to Fishlegs, and we may consider not feeding you to the dragons” Toothless growls to prove the point, and it seems to do the trick.

The man´s blue eyes drift down and he lets out a long breath. Hiccup allows himself to think that maybe, _maybe_ he´s willing to swallow his pride for the life of his crew, for his own.

Then Varian looks back up at him, with a smirk on his lips.

“Nah… Don´t take me wrong, you drive a hard bargain, but I just don´t think we´re connecting you know?” he says to Hiccup´s disbelieving face “Why don´t you come back tomorrow with a better offer?”

The skin breaks entirely under his knife, and a fat drop of blood spills over the silver metal. Hiccup throws it aside, and lifts Varian by the lapels of his jacket as much as the bindings allow him to.

“You´re going to tell me, and you´re going to tell me _now_ ” he snarls, hands shaking. He hears steps behind him, knows the riders are coming to check on what is it that has him this riled up, but Varian is still smirking and Hiccup sees _red_. “TELL ME”

“See you tomorrow Chief” says Varian.

Hiccup pulls a fist back, and only after Astrid´s muted call does he realize he´s effectively about to punch a restrained man.

The realization is startling, as Hiccup has never been one to let himself be taken by violence. He remembers when it was the law of the land, and how insignificant he´d been back then.

Hiccup drops Varian back on the chair with a rough push. The chair swivels a little, but Hiccup is pushing past Toothless and the riders, not knowing or caring if it toppled over as he makes his way out the prison and into the village.

Even out here in the open air, he feels much more trapped than the man in the cell, with his amused eyes and confident smile, and he wants to scream. He buries a hand in his hair and pulls in frustration, before heading for the healer´s hut.

Gothi´s there, as is his mother.

Fishlegs greets him with a pained smile, and Hiccup can see his leg poking from under the blanket. His entire foot has been consumed by lead, and the metal crawls slowly up his calf, like an infection. What´s more worrying, silvery veins already run all over his body, and the tips of his fingers have begun to metallize as well, and Hiccup mentally crosses out the plan of merely amputating the leg.

“Any luck?” asks his mother

Hiccup remembers the man´s smile, and allows himself to fall on the bench by Fishleg´s bench.

“I see” says his mother

Hiccup buries his head in his hands, and sits by his dying friend


	2. Chapter 2

**2.1 You may need better walls…**

Annie rolls her eyes, as the Chief’s raised voice comes from down the hall. Are they seriously at this again?

“Listen Chief, I don´t much fancy people yelling in my face, it tends to get a little boring, unless it´s under the right circumstances” Varian´s voice comes next, and Annie smiles. The little shit. “Why, I thought by now you´d know to come bearing attractive offers”

"Varian, I'm a patient man" said the captain, sounding like an exercise in antonyms. "But this is Fish's life. We've treated you and your crew decently, I believe?"

"Very decently" Varian agrees sensibly

"Generously, even"

"I agree. The meals are on time and the place is clean and warm" she can practically _see_ Varian nodding along. "We have little to nothing to complain, I mean that imbecile you call cousin keeps trying to chase Ruddiger out, but I believe we all know who the smart one is in that pair"

Stationed by her cell, she sees Snoutlout flinch "Why is he always so mean?" He asks under his breath. Annie gives his shoulder a few comforting pats through the bars.

"I'll arrange that your raccoon is left to come and go as he pleases" Hiccup promises. "Now, will you please tell me how to help-"

"Nah"

Annie grins. Bastard.

"Why?" There's a loud crash, and Annie guesses a very angry chief just kicked am empty food bowl against a wall. "What else do you want from us?!"

"As I said yesterday" Varian stretches his syllables, as if talking to someone extremely dull "The keys to the prison and a ship will be just enough"

Annie waits then, to see if this is the day the chief loses it, if the sound of a punch or a slap comes to her ears.

Instead, a cell door slams. Annie and her cellmates laugh, and she uses Zulka's kohl pencil to draw another mark on the wall.

Six days and counting.

**2.2 There's always bigger fish**

"You think you're smart" says Astrid. She's not so much been assigned to guarding Varian's cell as she's taken over the obligation herself. She doesn't trust this quickmouthed man near sweet gullible Snout, or the easily inflamed twins, and every moment spent in his company seems to deteriorate her chief further.

She's the strongest option.

"Why yes I do" Varian replies with a smile. He sits on the chair like he isn't restrained to it, relaxed and poised against the backrest like it's a throne, and Astrid wants to break his spine just for that. Let's see if he can sit so straight then.

"I don't think you are. Not as much as you believe" she says, and purposefully doesn't look into the cell. "Hiccup will break you-"

"He certainly can try, but I fear your hope is misplaced"

"And" Astrid grits her teeth, continuing as if she'd never been interrupted. "If he doesn't break you in time. If Fishlegs dies, then he has no use for you"

"Dreadful. It should happen in about two or three days" he says nonchalantly, and her grip around the spear tightens. 

"And when he has no use for you" she smiles. This is the point she's been circling, the point this oh so smart man hasn't gotten to yet "then you're mine to play with. And you will find I'm not as noble hearted as he is"

The cell is silent. Astrid chuckles under her breath.

“Do you believe I have never faced torture, wench?” he asks. His voice is haughty and amused still, but Astrid takes joy in the pause he had to take. 

“I'll just have to do my best then, don't you think?”

**2.3 Patience is a virtue learned at sea...**

But the others are getting restless.

Hans can feel it, like a tremor under his skin. He's felt it before on a minor scale, when it's already dinnertime and food is not yet on the table. He knows Annie takes it better than most, because she sees the whole thing as inherently amusing. The rest of the crew doesn't share that opinion.

They've spent long periods in captivity before, it happens when your Captain's main means of getting the last word in is sinking his own ship. The difference is, they've never been guarded like this. Dogs they can trick, humans they can bribe, there's always a way one or two of them can sneak out by night to stretch their legs and burn out some energy.

Here it's impossible, the dragons are eerily intelligent and loyal to a fault, and there's simply too many of them, always prowling right outside the jailhouse's windows in such a way that even though they made away with enough bars to fit through, no one dares try it.

They have tried talking to the guards, telling them that their captain is honorbound, and would've healed their fallen mate already if not for their chief's stubbornness, but these people's respect seems to have been forged out of steel, and they back Hiccup up even as the other man slowly turns into a lead statue.

And all the while, the captain remains in his cell, enjoying making the chief squirm day after day.

Hans sighs as he hears the others muttering behind him. He knows what happens when a crew gets like this. He doesn't like it one bit

**2.4 Takes one to know one**

Ruff knows the pirates don't think much of them, and she finds it hilarious. To be honest, she can't blame them, Tuff and her make it simple for people to overlook them for a reason.

It had taken her own group years to finally catch on to the fact that they were far from a pair of dimwits who knew only fighting each other because hey, that's what they do most of the time and they enjoy it.

People dismissing them is a bonus, and they love it. It's easy, to hear things when people don't think you're important enough to shield their words from you.

"They're gonna break out" says Tuff one night as they're all gathered outside Fishlegs' hut. Meatlug sits a few yards away, miserable while the other dragons try to cheer her up. Fishlegs' arms are lead up to his elbows now, and he cannot pet her anymore.

Ruff nods. Although different, it's on the same line of what she's heard.

"We'll strengthen the security" Hiccup frowns. "I will see them dead and rotting first"

Oof. The chief is hot, when he talks like a proper viking. Her news itch on the tip of her tongue, but timing is everything, so she holds it.

"I think we should let some of them go" Snout shrugs by his side, then shrinks a little at the glares Hiccup and Astrid drill him with. "I mean? A compromise? Half now, half when the captain fixes Fish? It's what he wants right?"

"That's exactly why we're not doing it" ah, Astrid the revengeful bastard, charming as always. "We're not giving in to-"

"I mean who cares?" Snout interrupts her, and well that's a new one. Everyone's looking at him, and he squirms a little under the attention. "As long as he fixes Fish, he can go. We can hunt them down later, who cares if they think they won?"

Personally, Ruff wouldn't give this captain an inch knowing he'll take a mile, but she still resents the implication that they're leaving Fishlegs to die for their pride.

Hiccup seems to think similarly, because he merely pushes himself off the wall and walks away. The four of them keep silent at the sight of his lips pressed into a grim line, as he climbs onto Toothless and takes off.

Astrid punches Snoutlout on the shoulder, after he disappears in the distance.

"What's that for?" He asks, rubbing the sting off with a frown.

"You need to work on your tact man" and it's ironic really, that Tuff's the one saying it.

"Hel, I didn't even get to tell him what _I_ heard" Ruff speaks at last. What a pain, these guys and their egos.

Astrid sighs, slipping into her second in command role. 

"What is it Ruff?"

She smiles.

"They're not planning to escape _together_ "

 

**2.5 Pirates aren't known for their self-control**

So Bìhn's a bit surprised at the Captain's streak. Annie's been keeping track, and it's been about nine days. Honestly, he's more than just surprised that the man's still alive.

He can see into Varian's cell from his, and he smirks as the chief leaves yet again, this time in frustrated silence. He knocks on the wall.

"What" that's Brogden's rough voice

"Is Annie awake?" 

"I am" comes her voice next. "We're up to eleven days now" 

Whoa.

Bìhn wakes up from a fitful sleep. The cells are as comfortable as cells can be, but being cramped in a small space with half the crew during the whole day is tiring, especially when he's accustomed to spending hours on end alone in the crows' nest.

He turns on the straw mat, and a pegleg comes into his vision field, hitting the floor behind the bars. The chief came back. Bìhn watches as the man makes his way across the hallway and stops in front of Varian's cell. He opts to stay quiet and immobile, to not alert any of the two that they're being watched.

"You're not sleeping" says the chief. He sounds tired, the pot calling the kettle black.

"I had a feeling you weren't satisfied with our lovely chat this morning" Varian replies, and Bìhn can hear the smug smile in his voice, which prompts a grin of his own. "I've been waiting for you to come back"

"He's dying" the chief replies in a thin thread of voice. From his place, Bìhn sees the captain nod.

"Just two or three more days, or however much he can stand without water" he says conversationally. "Most people don't last this long, to be honest. They go mad from the pa-"

"Please"

"Huh?"

A thud. The chief's knees hitting the ground softly, and his forehead coming to rest against the bars.

"Please I'm... I can't let you go" Hiccup says, his voice strained like a fist was squeezing his throat. "But I can do other things, I'll-"

"Hiccup, are you _begging_ me?" And right then and there after Varian's pleased words Bìhn wants to groan because he's heard _that_ voice before, and he's so sick of sleeping without even a makeshift mattress...

"Yes, I... Please" the chief mutters, voice low and hoarse "please save him"

"Alright" Varian replies. Bìhn can't quite see the shit eating grin, but he can imagine it, and he hears the chief lift his head in shock. "Untie my hands, I'll give you the bottle with the counter chemical"

"I can't do that" Hiccup says, and it sounds almost apologetic. "You're too dangerous. Tell me where it is and I'll get it myself"

"Mmm" Varian mumbles "disappointing, but not unexpected. Very well. Under my shirt, between my shoulderblades" he explains. Bìhn remembers then, the flat pouch where the captain keeps small doses of his potions. "If your hands are cold, I will murder you"

A small chuckle comes from the cell next to his, and Bìhn's lips curl into an amused smile. Annie's awake.

He hears the door to the cell open, sees the man enter the cell and bend over Varian, covering him with his body as he reaches behind his back, and hears him gasp when he comes away, holding something in his hand as though it were a newborn kitten.

"Thank you" Hiccup mumbles. His voice has an airy quality to it now, and Bìhn figures he must feel relieved at holding the cure in his hand. "But..."

"But?" Varian asks back. From his tone, it's clear he knows what the man will ask, and is enjoying the moment.

"But... Why now?"

Varian responds.

The cell door slams shut, and the man's mismatched steps have barely hurried past the door when Annie explodes in cackles. Bìhn tries to resist, but one by one the crew begins to crack down, and he finds himself joining. 

Incorrigible, he thinks as Varian's words ring back in his head.

"Ah, what can I say chief? You look _very_ fetching on your knees"

 

**2.6 Ravens know when death is coming**

It's taken him nearly a decade, but Snout is now mature enough to recognize that Hiccup is probably the best cousin he could've hoped for.

He still thinks he thinks too much (and isn't that ironic) and that his way of chiefdom is a bit too peaceful for his taste, but whatever. He didn't challenge for his place in the succession line years ago, he won't challenge now.

Sometimes they talk, and it feels weird to have someone actually listen to him, like whatever Snout has to say is important. It feels nice, if he does say so himself, and in those occasions he regrets having been so tough to him all those years ago, having kept himself from finding this easy camaraderie long before.

But Snout is a simple man, and he doesn't waste much time in lamenting the past. Instead, he lives in the present.

In the present, he takes a step back from Fishleg's bed when the potion dribbles harmlessly over his lead-encased stomach.

Hiccup waits a little longer, and Snout sees the rest of the riders follow his lead and take steps back themselves. They have all at some point been witness to Hiccup's anger, and it's not a pretty sight. Beware the rage of a gentle man and all that.

The next moment the vial's shattering on the ground, and they're all running after Hiccup.

Varian is smiling when they reach his cell, and Snout hangs back. Just. As a precaution.

The beautiful, terrifying woman who's taken to running her sharp nails along Snout's neck whenever he's on guard by her cell and complimenting the food by promising she will only disembowel his father instead of his whole family, laughs.

"Awww... Did the chief not enjoy the Captain's gift?" She asks, mirth in her voice. Snout should not be as aroused, but he hasn't made it this far in life by questioning things 

"We had a deal!" Hiccup shouts in Varian's face. He only smiles, and it reminds Snout of Hookfang's face right before he sets himself on fire. "we had a deal, and you gave me a fake potion!"

"Oh my, did I?" Varian asks, his eyebrows curved in surprise and lips pursed in a mocking gesture. "Silly me, I must've given you the wrong vial, my bad. I still have a few, must've gotten confus-"

As soon as the word "few" leaves his mouth, Hiccup is pulling him by his collar, lifting him off the chair and sticking a hand up his shirt.

"My, boys!" Varian laughs and calls out in a voice laced with surprise "he's being _rough_!"

As the pirates in the remaining two cells start leering and whistling, Snout feels his face going red at the same rate he sees Hiccup's doing the same, like come on, this is his baby cousin what the hel?!

"Give 'im a good patdown chief, you never know where he's hiding stuff!" 

"You should strip him actually! That'll teach him" they laugh, and Varian laughs with them. Snout looks at the twins, and is pretty sure he's not the only one feeling like the situation is skipping out of their hands.

He then looks at Astrid because well, Astrid _fixes_ shit, and of course she's already directing a nasty glare at the pirates.

She takes two fingers into her mouth, and let's out a high pitched whistle.

Stormfly's chattering growl responds when she land outside the cells, her tail peeking through one window, her face on another. She turns her head to one side curiously, before releasing both a volley of tail spikes and a fiery breath over the heads of the still leering prisoners.

That makes them shut up fast enough.

"How sad" Varian comments from where he's hanging from Hiccup's arms. "I thought you barbarians at least had a sense of humor"

"We don't" Astrid responds, face hard and a hand resting on the handle of her battle-axe. "now give him the potion"

"Mmm I could, but I'd much rather not waste my last dose of counter chemical" Varian shrugs. "It will not work unless I administer it. And I won't administer it until you-"

Hiccup lets go of him. Varian stumbles a little, but by then Hiccup has already pulled his dagger out of his boot. The pirates in the other cells yell something or other, but a warning growl of Stormfly is enough to stop them.

Varian is then roughly pushed on one shoulder, and Snout shivers as he gets a momentary glimpse of his pleased face. That guy's weird.

Then with a dry sound, the blade cuts through the ropes tying Varian's wrists together.

"Finally. I knew you were capable of seeing reason" Varian turns around, deliberately rubbing his wrists. "Now..." And here he stuffs a hand down his pocket to pull out a small vial and what the Hel?! They'd checked him, how had he managed to hide not one but two potion bottles?!

Snout's indignation doesn't end there, as Varian lifts his right hand, and pushes down on the big black stone decorating one of his rings. There's a click, and a small blade snips out from under the stone.

"Back" Astrid orders immediately. She's taken a step to stand by Hiccup's side, axe in hand. Varian is however completely unfazed by the -in Snout's opinion- best shieldmaiden's display, and merely laughs.

"Really blondie? It's the size of my nail" he says, before pulling the cork out of the vial's mouth. He then stabs the small blade on his free arm's inner elbow, and waits until a fat drop of crimson blood forms in the wound.

What the fuck? Snout thinks softly.

They watch in confused silence, as Varian presses the top of the vial against his pale skin to allow the blood to drip into it, and corks it again.

"There you go. No need to thank me" he says, giving the vial a shake. The foul potion inside changes color, and he throws it up in the air in Hiccup's direction. "Now get out. You're awful company, and I'd much rather be by myself"


	3. Chapter 3

**3.1 Waking up (inside)**

Gods, Fishlegs is _starving_.

While the lead spreading slowly through his body wasn't exactly painful on its own, everything else caused by it was.

His stomach was burning, he was literally dying for some water, and the blood rushing back into his limbs made all sorts of weird pinching and cramping creep up to his core.

But still, he was alive.

"Listen, it's not that I'm not interested in hearing what's happened, but could we do it over some dinner?" He asks. Hiccup laughs. It sounds strained but Fish guesses it's not that crazy considering he almost died.

In the end they don't let him eat to his heart's content. He's fed some nuts and an egg, and is allowed to take only small sips of water from a canteen. It's understandable, but frustrating.

"So? Did anyone know who they are?" He asks between one meager sip and the other "or what they were looking for?"

"We know their names" says Hiccup. His friend looks... Tired. Thinner, with deep dark eyebags and Fish is willing to bet it's not only due to his condition as a living lead statue "asides from that? Nothing. They didn't seem to be looking for anything when we found them, but still. They're pirates"

Fishlegs nods, because he's ever been in synch with Hiccup's moral compass "we had to stop them" and then, because this is as interesting as it is morbid "so how did he turn me into a cannonball?"

Hiccup rolls his eyes. "Nothing you can memorize and learn, dunderhead." He explains "He's some sort of sorcerer. He somehow kept some of his potions under his clothes, which is how we were able to turn you back"

"... Were you looking under his clothes specifically hoping for a reverse potion? Because it's a very specific place to start looking" Fish asks. Hiccup goes a funny shade of red he hasn't seen since they were twelve and Astrid walked away from explosions. 

"I wasn't- he made me" Hiccup stutters out. Then, after Fish pulls a face "don't you start too, he's enjoying my discomfort way too much, and so is his crew"

"And why haven't we thrown them out? Or into the dragon pit?" He asks. 

Hiccup rubs a tired hand down his face. "I just... Technically we didn't catch them doing anything wrong Fish. We just assumed they were pirates, they didn't even had a flag?" He explains "Don't take me wrong, I _know_ they're rotten sort, but I can't just let them go or execute them until I have proof"

It doesn't sound completely right, but it certainly sounds like something Hiccup would rationalize, so Fishlegs nods.

"Have you thought of setting Astrid on them?"

And Hiccup smirks. It's not often that his friend lives up to his Horrendous legacy (Horrendous Wartback the Second had been a legendary warrior famed for his bloodthirst and his recipe for sunny-side up rock pebbles, which had kept Berk from starving -and having teeth- during one of the worst dragon sieges in its history) but whenever he does, it's a sure sign hel is about to break loose.

"Well, not back when they had the only cure for what was happening to you" Hiccup starts. "I did make her promise to not hurt them, but what they don't know won't kill them, right?"

**3.2 Give them a hand and they'll take a foot**

Or the keys, in this case.

It takes some contorting, but eventually Varian manages to push his arm far enough through the bars that he can reach the keyring hanging from the guard's belt.

This time it's the blonde woman with the long braids, and he has to ignore his disappointment that it wasn't the axe-crazy one; he would have enjoyed putting her to sleep way too much, having her wake up to the notion that she'd left her precious chief's prisoners escape.

But alas, after last night's watch, he figures even a demoness requires rest.

The jailhouse is silent, as the crew too fell victim to the sleeping glass ampoule he smashed on the floor after swallowing the antidote pill.

He'll get them later. What's important is that he gets out of here, and back in possession of his alchemic potions. Once he has those, he can break the crew out one by one, and there won't be a thing these idiotic brutes can do about it.

The cell door clicks open, and he closes it behind him, because he knows it will make the chief and his wench snarl. Thank you for the stay, I'm leaving now.

Bìhn is asleep in his usual careless stance, sitting against a wall with arms crossed over his chest, and his stretched legs crossed at the ankles. Varian leans through the bars, and drops the key that opened the cell door in the dip between arms and chest. A nice wake up present, and he'll be careful enough. 

He takes his sweet time -the gas won't wear of for another hour or so- examining his crew.

They're all there, and in mostly good shape. Zulka has a bandage around her neck where one of the dragons scratched her, but it looks clean and snug. Hans already looks thinner, but that was expected as the cook is notoriously picky with any food he didn't make himself. Caleb has a nasty burn on a forearm, and Annie seems to have dropped asleep on top of... A blanket covering a stack of the keratinous spikes the dragon used to attack them the day before. Nice.

Since they seem to be faring well and no one is in immediate need to get out, Varian continues as planned. He walks down the hallway, and finds a side room with all his confiscated belongings placed neatly on a table, thank you very much.

He takes only the essentials. The less he has to carry, the easier he can hide; he restocks his hidden pouches and pockets with new chemicals, and tucks his dagger into his boot. That should be enough.

The air is crisp and energizing when he opens the door, dawn barely breaking over the horizon. The village is still mostly silent, but Varian dallies a second in the threshold of the jailhouse when he sees a couple men go down the main road. One is wearing a bucket on his head, for some reason. These ridiculous barbarians.

"Good morning Captain" says a grinning voice Varian had come to be intimately familiar with, and he groans as he turns to face the owner. "I'm gonna have to escort you back" is all the brutish wench says, before she punches him in the stomach and puts him in a chokehold.

"Mornin' Astrid" says the sleepy blonde girl, just waking up as he's dragged back "he tried again?"

This does it. Next time he's using poison gas.

**3.3 Got a long list of ex-victims...**

"I'm tellin' ye" the man makes a pause to spit an admirably sized loogie off on the ground "he done sank the ship. I ain't got the slightest idea 'ow but he done that"

"But why would they attack your ship?” Hiccup asks. Behind the old sailor, the twins are walking around just... Looking at things, flipping them over and making a mess while listening to the conversation of the entire bar. "Were you known to carry riches in your ship? Gold and stones maybe?"

"Nah son. We were transporting barrels"

"... Barrels?"

"Aye"

"Just. Empty barrels?"

"Well, one o' em had a special lil' portrait rolled up inside, some smilin' lady" the man takes another gulp of his drink "told us to keep it real quiet they did but honestly? Ma boy could of done better, at least he wouldn't of forgotten them eyebrows"

"Huh" Hiccup nods. Stealing a portrait feels to him frivolous at best and useless at worst, but perhaps Varian and his crew had gotten paid for it "Anything else?"

"Ah they did steal the Captain's book collection, if I recall"

"Navigation books?"

"All sorts. I wouldn't know I mean, never did learn how to read I didn't, but the Captain said he had some real fancy ones, some science-y stuff ye know?"

"I do... What happened to the captain?"

"This man with the buckteeth just gone slit his throat, son. Then he went n' dueled the first an' second officers, offed 'em too" the man says nonchalantly. Hiccup feels his eyebrows raise. Varian for all his pompous gait and arrogance, was a twig of a man, much like Hiccup supposes he could've been had he not met Toothless and taken on rider training. He was the kind of man that used magic and poisons to fight rather than swords, and yet... "After that we didn't want much to do with him. Just swim away we did, and let me tell ye, if I never see hair nor hide nor teeth of that devil again in my life, it'll be too soon fer me"

"That's.... Impressive" Fishlegs says after they've taken their leave from the man. Hiccup huffs.

"You get impressed too easy. Everyone can shed blood. Even me, and that's saying something" Hiccup crosses his arms over his chest, even as a small voice whispers in his mind that two versus one duel to the death, after executing a man is certainly not something _everyone_ can do and come out on top. "I... Didn't expect it from him though" he concedes finally.

They set to wait for the twins, to see what news they managed to eavesdrop in.

**3.4 The walls have ears**

"You hear that?" Hans' voice comes clear and strong through a gap in two stones. The voices of the others in the next cell come through as well, much less clearly but enough that Bìhn knows what the cook is referring to.

"Got some pretty big balls there doesn't he? I think the Captain would know more than anything what to do with mutinous scum" he replies in as low a voice as he can, to not alert the others in his cell. He keeps his eyes on his gloved hands as they work on carving the spike Annie slid through this same gap this morning. 

They've been searched once, but Bìhn managed to slide the key Varian gave him into his hair before the guards got to him, and is now working its likeness into the rough bone. If the dragon's spikes were strong enough to stab into the rock of the wall, they'll surely witstand three uses as a key.

"He's lost his mind" Barnabas starts again in the other cell. "We're all going to die here because he wants to bed that cripple of a chief and I won't stand for it!" His voice is an angry whisper that carries through the cell, and Bìhn looks up for a moment. 

Varian is not in his cell -either he escaped again, or he's been taken somewhere else for the day- and Bìhn's glad he's not listening to this; the prison is nice and it won't do to sully it with the smell of blood.

"You've never cared who he fucks before" Annie remarks dryly. "Maybe you need to bed someone too, would that make you a little more likable? If so, I'm willing to wait"

"Shut your trap. Not all of us are harlots with no standards, the women here look like beasts" Barnabas bites back. Bìhn winces. It's not always that the crew takes to attacking each other personally, but when they do it doesn't end-

"Oh, so they remind you too much of your mother?" Annie's voice cuts through the silence, prompting a barrage of tense laughter. Well, there it is. "Sit and look pretty Barnabas. May I remind you Varian has been trying to break us out since he got unbound?"

"Spare me your pathetic boot licking Princess, he can't hear you right-"

Barnabas' voice cuts into a scream before the end of his sentence, and Bìhn sighs as the other cell explodes into chaos. There's the sound of fists hitting against flesh and flesh hitting against the walls, and then the guards are coming.

It's only two today, Astrid and Snout, if Bìhn has learned their names right, and he tucks the key into the fold of his arm as they run past and open the adjacent cell.

"Stop, STOP THIS I SAID" Astrid yells. " EVERYONE AGAINST THE WALL!" he guesses she must've pulled a weapon on them, because the sounds of fighting stop. "You!"

"Yes ma'am?" Annie responds casually. 

"What in Hel happened here?!" She demands. 

"He spoke to me in a way I didn't like" Annie explains. There's challenge in her voice, and Bìhn knows she's staring down the Viking woman despite being several inches shorter.

"He wha-? Odin, you guys are crazy" Astrid huffs "Snout, take- Snout! Stop that and move her into the other cell! Also, fetch me the antivenin for Stormfly from my hut!"

"Yes Astrid" responds the man, and after a malicious giggle from Annie and the sound of steps, an absolute starstruck-looking viking opens the door of his cell for a smug faced Annie. 

He makes sure to close and lock it before leaving down the hallway.

"Where did you stab him?" Bìhn asks as Annie goes to sit next to him. The rest of the crew in the cell gives them a few glares. Whatever. Tensions always run high in a crew of criminals, they'll get over it.

"Those dragon spikes sure are sharp" Annie relaxes against him, and Bìhn rolls his eyes "I certainly wasn't expecting it to go all the way through his thigh"

**3.5 Duty**

The root tastes bitter when he rips it out.

He knows it won't hurt him, knows that the sweet tasting things Varian gives him keep him safe and able to eat almost anything he wants, but it still tastes bad. Still, Varian needs it, so he sits it out and drags the whole piece out of the earth.

Getting it back to the big house with the bars is a bit more difficult; he has to be careful. The big colorful racoons are always roaming, sometimes up in the sky, sometimes behind the huts, sometimes just above him, waiting to spit fire. They wouldn't be so brave if he was in his big form.

He hides in shadows, and through an open window he manages to procure a chunk of burnt wood and a piece of brown leaf. Varian likes those, he draws strange symbols until late into the night, and then burns them. He doesn't understand, but it makes Varian happy, and he can carry the three things, so he does.

"Lokkit the funny lil' critter" he hears a human say. It's the big yellow furred one with no leg and no paw that he's seen checking the big racoons' fangs. He's pretty much inoffensive, so Ruddiger ignores him. "Whatever in the world does a raccoon need paper and charcoal for?"

So far undetected asides from the human, he makes it to the big house. He can smell Varian inside, and the rest of the nursery. Varian's room has no windows though, so he heads for one of the other two.

"Hey Ruddiger" says the girl with the green eyes and the spot on her muzzle. He likes her; she sometimes rubs his belly and gives him tasty treats, but right now he has no time. He looks at her and tilts his head to the side in greeting, before squeezing through the bars. 

The other humans, the ones that can walk in and out of the big house, are not here, and so Ruddiger can cross the place in a brief run and squeeze between the bars again.

"Welcome back boy" says Varian, and Ruddiger takes a second to place his loot on the ground before he stands on his back legs and lifts his paws. As always, Varian lifts him to his chest and rubs behind his ears. "Had a good hunt today? What did you bring?" Then he puts him down, and examines his gift.

Ruddiger feels giddy when Varian smiles.

"You're the best assistant, did you know that?" Varian ruffles his fur and sneaks the objects into a corner of the room, before sitting on the ground "Stay here for a while, come on" 

With that, he pats his lap and Ruddiger makes himself comfortable on his favorite place in the world.

They have alchemy to do.

**3.6 Don't kill the messenger**

These guys are fun. Sometimes Tuff has to remind himself they're his prisoners and not his drinking buddies, so tempted he is to not laugh at their jabs and crass humor.

Instead, he keeps up his and his sister's favorite method of being overlooked and pretends to be very stupid and very pissed off all the time, and hears some very juicy gossip while he's at it.

Apparently, the pirates are _not_ delighted that one of their own attacked another. Annie, the one Snout's been rambling about, spends her days in a corner of the cell. The others spare her not words nor stares, save from the man with the long black hair and moustache. Tuff is certain they're up to something, all huddled up in that corner.

However, more interesting still is the fact that Hiccup had been coming and going much more frequently than one would think necessary, given that Varian already gave up the cure for Fishlegs, and they still aren't sure which kindgom (if any) they should give the pirates up for.

They've been coming and going for a week almost, gathering stories and rumors people that ran into the crew but were less fortunate than them and as it turns out, they have quite the ledger. Which also makes Tuff wonder what the hel is Hiccup doing just sitting in the Captain's cell.

"Where did you come from?" Hiccup asks this time. Varian is on the other corner of the cell, sitting with his back against the wall and the racoon on his lap. 

"My mother, quite a while ago" Varian responds calmly while petting the animal "I really hope I don't have to explain how"

"Would it kill you to not be a smartass for five minutes?" Hiccup snarls, and Tuff chuckles to himself. Way to be a hypocrite. "Everyone has heard of you, but no one knows where you came from. You have a mainland name but that only narrows it so much"

"Everyone has heard of me? My chief, flattery will get you anywhere" Tuff doesn't turn to look, mostly because he can practically hear Varian's smirk in his voice and doesn't really need the visual. "Let me ask you something first though. Why should I tell you? and more importantly, why would you believe I'll tell you?" 

"You've been honest with me before" Hiccup says simply. 

"Well yes, but those were some... Special circumstances weren't they?" Varian purrs. "You're welcome to get down on your knees again, see what it'll get yo-"

"Yeaaaah that's enough for me" Tuff speaks up loudly. "Can you two cut it out?

"I'm not doing anything" Hiccup pouts. Tuff had seen that somewhere, he's _sure_ but he can't pinpoint where.

"Well you're still in the damned cell, just get out" he stomps his way over to them and yanks the door open "come on"

"Always a pleasure to have you, chief" Varian smirks. Tuff rolls his eyes and pulls Hiccup out before he has time to reply.

"Why do you keep going in with him?" He asks. "We should just leave them all tied down in the mainland, someone there will know where they come from"

"It's not just about handing them in Tuff!" Hiccup snarls back 

"Then?"

"You clearly don't understand" the other huffs and turns around to leave. Tuff rolls his eyes again. He doesn't understand alright, but there's something here he's seen before. He just has to figure out where.

"Hey Astrid. Time for your shift?"

**3.7 You gotta love family...**

Weird obsessions and all.

"I mean. We already got 'em locked up where they can't hurt anyone" Dagur begins. He's leaning on Shatter's side, watching as Hiccup walks resolutely into the village with his overgrown cat-dragon following. "Why not just keep 'em there? Executing them even"

"You know Hiccup" Snout shrugs. "He's trying to pass it off as some sort of moral thing, but honestly he just wants to get the last word in."

Dagur nods. For how righteous his little brother can get, he's not one to walk away from a fight. Even if he has to make ridiculous and frankly disturbing dragon calls to look impressive. Still, he raises an eyebrow.

"This Captain guy getting too many words in?" Dagur asks

Snout turns to look at him, scandalized look and all "Are you kidding me?! He spits more venom out than Belch every time he opens his mouth, the man is _mean_ and he enjoys it way too much" he sounds a bit hurt by the end of his rant, and Hookfang's enormous muzzle comes to give his side a comforting nudge. "I'm not a disastrous brainless imbecile"

Dagur reaches to pat Snout's shoulder while Shatter scratches at his ear with a back leg.

"Nah, at most you're a mildly inconvenient brainless idiot" he says. Snout rolls his eyes with a smile and punches him lightly on the side. "What about the crew?"

"Eh. Pretty much just what you'd expect from a crew of cutthroats" Snout shrugs. "The twins found out they're having a lot of inside fights, and most of them are planning to break out and leave the others behind. They're gonna need some good luck to get past Astrid though"

"Most of em?" Dagur asks. Lack of loyalty amongst thieves is not unheard of, so much so that the fact that it's "most" and not "all" of them is what comes as a surprise.

"There's this woman. She's beautiful and scary. Also these two men, one of them is in the cell with her, we had to move her after she stabbed a crewmate" Snout replies, and Dagur nods approvingly at the dreamy hint in his voice. "they don't say much, and the rest of the crew doesn't pay them much attention, but who knows? It could all be an act"

"Keep an eye on them all the same. Loyal or unloyal, they're still pirates, and worst, in league with a sorcerer" Dagur spits to cleanse his tongue of the dirty word. "Here he comes"

And Hiccup is strutting back to them, brow furrowed and eyes fixed on the ground even though anyone who saw him could tell his mind is a thousand leagues away. 

"I know that face" Snout groans as Toothless leans against Hiccup's side and gently guides him to the both of them. "It's a problem face"

"Afraid of a little adventure Snout?" Dagur jokes, only for his smug grin to be frozen in his face when Hiccup speaks.

"We're flying to Hysteria"

 

**3.8 So three Vikings fly into a village...**

Hiccup has a bad feeling from the moment the three of them breach a cloud and get their first view of Hysteria.

It looks much like Berk... If Berk had figured out a way to kill dragons on sight three decades ago and had invested its resources into development and a _very_ creative architect. 

The huts, if they can be called that, are mostly spiral shaped, reaching towards the heaven in a way Hiccup remembers from his lessons to represent Freyja's narwhal fang spear thrusting up. 

Hiccup sees the sharp, actual narwhal fang tips, and remembers the Goddess's temper was so fierce that not even his patron God would cross her.

"Brother... We can still turn back, and I ask you to consider it" he hears Dagur's voice by his side. Hookfang's wingspan is big enough that Hiccup, can only hear vague worried muttering coming from Snoutlout, but Shattermaster is the right size to fly next to Toothless and have his rider vent his thoughts out.

"I can't Dagur... I need to find out where this guy came from, I need to-"

"Win?"

Hiccup stiffens on the saddle when Dagur lets out the single, piercing word. 

"This is not about-"

"Is it not?" Dagur interrupts again "You have him. You could give him up to the mainland, and they will know where to lock him up. Is this not about you having the last word over a caged man?"

Hiccup feels himself seething. What right does Dagur have of being self-righteous? 

"I know the path that leads you down to" Dagur's voice is careful, controlled. "it ain't pretty, and you will not like it"

Hiccup presses against Toothless' side with his good leg. The dragon lifts and ear curiously, but complies and speeds up, leaving Shattermaster truly and well behind.

Dagur's words follow him though, even as he directs the dragon to the main plaza of the village. There's a welcome comitee, tall and gangly men and women sporting oddly shaped weapons.

They land, and Snout and Dagur land a moment after them, and they stand still under the threat of the guards' spears. The dragons are nervous, but they keep peace for their riders, until a tall, broad shouldered woman walks to the front of the crowd.

"Welcome, Chieftain Hiccup of the Hooligans. Husband-King Dagur of the Deranged" she says. Her voice is booming and sensual, and Hiccup immediately knows who this woman is "My name is Tannverk, Chieftain of the Hysterics. What brings you to my land?"

**3.9 History is bound to repeat itself**

While Bìhn was not there for the first mutiny, he can guess this is, details aside, how it went down.

Priya has a dragon spoke to his throat, and behind her Morrigan has Annie in a chokehold with a spike of his own. He wonders when the ones in the other cell passed them through, but he's been busy working on his carving, so it's not a miracle that they managed to sneak it by him.

"Good morning to you too Priya" he says. Priya rolls her eyes, and Bìhn smiles. He knows she never liked him much.

"Hand it over" she snarls. The fact that she's not bothering to lower her voice is a clear indication that the guards are not around, so Bìhm shrugs. 

"I mean, that was the plan all along" he reaches slowly into his hair to pull out the carved bone key and Priya snatches it off his hand"It's not a perfect copy yet but it should do. Are we leaving now?"

" _We_ are" Morrigan cuts in before Priya can respond. "Are you?" He arches an eyebrow pointedly. Annie snarls and revolts in his arms, but he must be cutting her air supply just right, because she can't even spit out an insult.

Bìhn knows a loaded question when he hears one "Sure. Everyone or no one right?" He looks at Varian's cell out the corner of his eye, can see him leaning against the cell bars. 

He doesn't look surprised or angry or offended, but he does give Bìhn a small nod when he notices him looking. 

From the other cell, he hears Brogden and Zulka laughing.

"I'm afraid there's been a small change in policy" says Morrigan with a nasty smile. 

Priya hands the key over to Alya and Bìhn has a brief moment of pride when the key turns in the lock, before he remembers that pretty much means he's fucked. 

Everyone but Priya and Morrigan leave the cell, and he can hear them sprinting to barricade the entrance door, before they recover the weapons and come back. 

The second cell opens, and swords and knives are passed around.

Barnabas' rough voice comes through the wall. "Are you coming or going?" He asks.

"Leave my sword by the door" says Hans in a voice so cold Bìhn doesn't even associate it with him.

Then Bìhn and Annie are being held at actual swordtip, pushed through the door and into the cell with Hans. The entry door is already being banged against. The Vikings are here. 

"You could at least learn how to do a proper chokehold Morrigan you brute" Annie rasps out. Bìhn pats her back sympathetically, even as Brogden slams the door shut.

"Well Captain" the others are already at Varian's cell. "Looks like we got conflicting interests" that's Barnabas "Bet you wish you hadn't been that invested in the chief eh?"

Varian merely smiles. "See you soon Barnabas" he says. Even though he can only see his back, Bìhn knows Barnabas us frowning. "Zulka. Brogden. Caleb. Priya. Morrigan. Alya."

"You're gonna rot in here" Zulka snaps and spits. Bìhn lets out a whistle. There's stupidity, and then there's this.

"We'll see" says Varian. "Look at the horizon boys" he rummages into his clothes, and there's half a dozen blades at his throat, before he offers small, pyramid shaped vial. "Smokebomb. Godspeed" he says, still smiling.

The tension grows, as the pounding on the door gets louder and louder. The traitors know better than to accept help from the man they betrayed, but...

Barnabas snatches the vial out of Varian's hand, and grunts a gruff "Niothing personal"

As the group makes their way towards the door, Varian nods at the three of them. Bìhn nods back, and feels the other two doing the same. Then Varian retreats to the back of his cell, and they follow the Captain's lead.

The next few moments are pure chaos, and the confusion is only added by the fact that Bìhn can't see into the corridor, and is not willing to risk taking a peek. 

The door is slammed open, and then the entire place is filling with smoke. There's battle sounds, but they subside soon enough, and Bìhn realizes there's another reason they left the Captain behind, when the Chief and his personal guard come running into the jailhouse and skid to a stop in front of Varian's cell.

"What the-" Astrid turns around, looks at the wide open cell door, and straight at the point where Bìhn, Annie and Hans are waiting to be noticed, and her eyes widen. "Hiccup, they weren't fighting to kill" she breathes out.

"Indeed" Varian speaks up. "You won't see them here again. Rats are the first to go when the ship sinks"

"... But why would they leave you?" Says the Chief after a heavy pause, and Bìhn has to smile. It's painfully obvious that this man finds the concept of disloyalty and betrayal as foreign as the language of another land.

"Seems like not everyone appreciates me quite as much as you, Chief" Varian smirks. He even gives Hiccup a wink, but Bìhn feels himself tense. Beneath the flirting and the amusement, Varian is angry. He can see it in the curve of his shoulders, in the tense line of his mouth, and he knows the other two noticed as well.

He's never been a forgiving man, but he hopes the crew makes it far enough from the island before Varian makes it out, for their sake.


	4. Chapter 4

**4.1 Sometimes justice is bitter, but it's better than the alternative**

Hiccup is on edge.

He had the cells checked time and time again, for any resources the pirates could've left behind to aid the last of them to escape while they procured a ship. He had the patrols strengthened around the jailhouse, not a moment passing without at least three or four guards around it. He had each of the left-behinds questioned, trying to get them to reveal the rest of the escape plan.

In other words, waiting for the other shoe to drop is wringing his nerves, and the fact that most everything seems to indicate that the other shoe simply doesn't exist isn't enough to placate them.

He knows Varian has something else up his sleeve.

_  
"Aye, we've faced those lowlifes before" Chief Tannverk speaks. She lifts her tankard of able to her lips, and takes a deep gulp of the liquid before setting it down again. "Didn't end up well for anybody"_

_"Did you lose warriors?" Hiccup asks after the silence that ensues. It's clear that neither Dagur nor Snout are willing to speak to the chief themselves, and it still feels weird, to outrank those two._

_"Twelve of them" Tannverk mutters, and rolls her eyes when Hiccup's eyebrows shoot up. "Make no mistake chief, my warriors are skilled and well staffed and fought those dogs tooth and nail, but that treacherous weasel of a captain plays dirty. Spears and fists are only so successful against the kind of things that man can do"_

_Hiccup pinches the bridge of his nose. Right. Sorcery._

_"Were you there to witness it?" He asks._

_Tannverk's grin sports three gold teeth and an air of bitterness, as she starts pulling off the heavy leather glove on her right hand. "You could say that, I think" and she rests her metal prosthetic on the table._

**4.2 Storm clouds look different, the deeper you are at sea**

Ruddiger sneaks through the bars into their cell, and Annie sighs.

It's not usual for the raccoon to forego his owner's company, but animals are good at reading moods. Not that it takes especially sharp senses tough, in this case at least.

She pats her lap and waits for the fat little thing to amble his way to her. He's soft when she hugs him, and makes a sad little gurgling she understands well enough.

"He'll come around soon enough Rudd, see? It's not us he's angry at" she whispers into the little furry ear. It won't do to let Varian hear her musings, but she needs to hear the reassurance as much as the animal does.

Perhaps he knows it, because a pair of tiny hands begin to play with her hair in an almost careful way.

Emotions are not a thing Annie likes to deal with, especially when they're as complicated as these. She's angry at Varian for staying but she also understands. She feels sad for him, even knowing he'd spit on her pity, and she's both furious and grieving at her crewmates' betrayal.

For the last three years, they've been the only thing she has resembling family, and now they're gone and they gave leaving her behind nothing more than a moment of consideration. 

She's even stopped messing with Snoutloud lately. It's just not the same, without planning her teasing jabs with Zulka beforehand.

When she leans forward to dart a look at the cell across the hall, she sees Varian's silhouette.

He's been in that corner ever since the mutiny, staring out the diminutive, too high to reach window like he could locate the traitors through hatred alone.

He hasn't spoken to any of them since then, and while Annie understands it's necessary to keep his rage in control, but she can't help feeling a bit resentful.

It wasn't them who betrayed him.

It was them, the ones loyal to the end.

Annie huffs. She runs a hand through Ruddiger's fur, and repeats the comforting words she told him for herself.

**4.3 Be wary of still waters, you know not what lurks within**

"I don't get it" says Astrid. She swirls the mead inside her horn, gaze lost in the light of the torches reflected in the golden drink.

"Hm?" Valka looks up from where she's sharpening her speartips, and Astrid huffs.

"The pirates" she says, as if there's been anything else of note in the past few months. "There hasn't been any escape attempt in a week and a half"

The dull scratch of Valka's whetstone against the steel fills the silence for a moment. "Not even the captain?" 

"He's not talking to anyone. Not even the other pirates" and isn't it unnerving, really? For nearly two months they've been trying to make them all shut up, stop them from shooting jokes and casual insults back and forth between the cells. They'd acted like they were at a tavern instead of prisoners in a jailhouse, and now the silence was unnerving. "I don't like it"

"I'm not surprised" Valka shrugs. "I always did say you have a good head on those shoulders"

Astrid smiles. For all that they will never truly be family, Astrid has found with Valka the relationship she could never build with her mother. The great warrior with big boots to fill, a heavy axe to carry and little time to braid her only daughter's hair. 

She doesn't resent her mother for choosing the warrior path, but it makes for a lonely childhood, when both your parents are more interested in how hard you can punch than in the bird you saw today at the forest. Perhaps that's why Astrid had grown up to value battle as much as she did.

Valka however, is always willing to listen to what she's thinking. It makes Astrid think of Hiccup, and she feels an irrational rush of warmth and protectiveness for both. 

"I just... I keep thinking he's planning something" she says, frowning. Putting this particular idea into words is complicated, because it's so counterintuitive to anything else she's ever learned. "And then I think that maybe... He's not planning anything? And that scares me even more. If that makes sense"

There's no shame in admitting fear, she knows. A warrior without fear is but a murderous beast. It takes a true warrior, to admit their fear and conquer it.

"Dear, I've lived with dragons for fifteen years" Valka finally sets the whetstone on the table, and looks at her in the eye. "I've seen their power, their cunning and their strength. But I can tell you" she arches an eyebrow "there's nothing more dangerous and terrible than a cornered dragon. Especially a wounded one"

"So you think..."

"Keep an eye on that one. He might have a few shots left"

**4.4 I'll tear your eyes out, so that you don't see me bleed**

It's stupid, really.

It's not like Varian expected loyalty from a crew be gained through mutiny, or from a handful of criminals.

There's no part of him that didn't expect to see himself betrayed by these lowlifes sooner or later, he had around a dozen revenge plots to bring them grovelling back to his feet so he could kick them away.

And most of all, there's not a single part of him that feels hurt.

The years spent together, the battles fought at each other's backs, the meals shared below deck, nothing really mattered. The crew of the Chrysopoeia was just that. A crew. A bunch of men and women that were together to make the ship functional. It was not, and it had never been, a family.

Varian knows this.

It's why he hasn't addressed the three still in the cell across the hallway, or given them more than a passing glance.

He does not know if they were injured in the mutiny, and he does not care. The only reason they stayed is to leave later, this he knows, and he does not care.

He does not.

It's been more than a decade since someone he trusted decided he was expendable, and it will not happen again.

"Like what you see Chief?" He asks, but even he can hear there's no fire in it, no teasing edge or playful amusement. He's angry, and he's tired. If this man cannot see this, he deserves whatever comes to him.

Hiccup comes into the cell.

"I need-"

"I could not give less of a damn about what you might or might not need." Varian spits bitterly "I would've thought you'd gotten the message after all these weeks, but it seems you're not as sharp as I thought"

"Your crew stole a ship" the man seems to be steeling himself for another biting remark, but it's not headed his way this time.

"I have no crew" out the corner of his eye he sees the three. Bíhn averts his eyes after his words and Annie flinches, but Hans remains staring at him. Varian pretends to not notice. "There's no honor amongst thieves, Chief. I'm surprised they stayed as long as they did, but your lizards are pretty effective, I must say"

Hiccup huffs, and Varian feels a perverse sort of amusement. The Viking is stoic for the most part, patient to a fault and immaculate in appearance as much as behavior.

Varian has always loved destroying beautiful things.

"So are you going to keep pretending you don't care or are you going to tell me where they went so that we can catch them?" And really, the nerve of this man. All he knows about Varian is that he lives in one of his cells, yet he dares come in here and admonish him like they're old pals?

Varian takes a step forward. Hiccup flinches, but remains steady. Then Varian steps forward again and again, and eventually Hiccup _has_ to step back against the bars, hand clenched around his sword's handle as Varian corners him with his body.

He looks up into Hiccup's eyes, using the careful disinterest and calculated coldness that always works marvels to make big strong men and women realize they might not be as in control of the situation as they would like to be.

"Don't forget yourself Hiccup." Varian speaks at last. "You don't know me, and I am not in your debt. I have no intention of telling you where the rats have gone to." he takes yet another step, small this time, just to lodge his foot between Hiccup's and force the man back to the bars. "Those are my deaths, and I intend to collect"

It takes him a moment, but in the end Hiccup regains his words and Varian commends him for it.

"What about those three?" He asks, gesturing. Varian doesn't break the eye contact. He knows who he's pointing at. He knows how he feels about them. "Why did they stay?"

Isn't that the million gold coins question?

"I don't know" he says. He risks a glance to the cell. Han is still staring, and Varian feels ashamed "And I do not care" he says.

He averts his eyes, because Hans doesn't.

 

**4.5 You'll miss the rain when there's a drought**

Varian looks... Different. Or perhaps what's different is the way Hiccup feels when he looks at the man.

Before, he seemed like a threat alright. Always waiting for a chance to strike, a limb stretched close enough for him to bite it off.

Now however, something's changed.

While Varian has always been dangerous, never before has he exuded this aura of violence. It makes Hiccup feel on edge every time he goes to see him -and there's been a lot of that lately, for all that his inquiries are usually met with sullen silence and angry stares, and he tends to end up just... Looking at Varian, until something else comes up for him to do- and leaves him antsy for hours, not even sure if he wants to put the jailhouse on lockdown or grab Inferno.

Today however, the spark seems to have caught.

"-you can't just-" the woman in the cell -Annie- is talking. Her face looks flushed and her fists are clenched tightly in the bars. The men are behind her, the one with the long hair looking down with his arms crossed at the corner of the room, the other staring right across the hallway at Varian... Who is all but speaking over Annie's voice.

"I will thank you to not try to tell me what I can and can't do Annalise" he says. The raccoon is balled up next to his feet with his fur poofed out in stress, but Varian has no eyes for anyone for the girl. "Whatever lousy claim you had at bossing people around you lost when you decided to join MY service"

"What's going on?" Hiccup whispers to the guard on duty.

Ruff shrugs "Girl tried to talk to him. He didn't like it" she says "never seen him scream like that. He's like a sword just outta the forge isn't he?"

Hiccup frowns, confused "What do you-"

"Thor almighty Chief do you even have eyes?" Ruffnut's smirk he's seen before, and he feels his face warm up even though he's heard her speak of men this way before "Red hot and sharp, and you wanna touch him even though you shouldn't"

"You wouldn't do a very good blacksmith Ruff"

"Aye, but you are, aren't you?" And what does that even me-

"I STILL AM IN YOUR SERVICE" Annie yells, her voice cracking a little as her face goes redder.

"Yes, and you quite literally BEGGED to be in it, so I will thank you to not assume I either need or want it, choke on it for all I care!" Varian looks positively venomous, and Ruff is quite right that there is a sort of intensity in the lines of his face. "You should've left with the rest of the rats"

The woman's face pales then reddens again all in the span of a second, and Hiccup steps forward, because this just won't do.

"That's some amazing show of leadership to the literal only loyal members of your crew, Captain" he says, arching an eyebrow and stepping between the two cells. "I may not approve of you all's choice of trade if it can even be called so, but we value loyalty, and that's no way to-"

"Excuse me" Varian interrupts him. Hiccup stops immediately, and it takes him a fraction of a second to notice it's not because Varian yelled or moved, but because there were no adornments to the phrase. No teasing utterings of his name, or playful, mocking "chief"s. When he looks into Varian's eyes, they're cold and closed like the doors of the Great Halls during a blizzard. "But I don't recall asking for your opinion, or your approval. You can keep your thoughts to yourself"

"Wow." Hiccup frowns. There's a chill running down his spine. "You woke up on the wrong side of the log didn't y-" and then his voice is cut short, because Varian is grabbing him by the collar of the shirt and pulling him down and against the bars with a strength he definitely hasn't shown before. Hiccup has a second to wonder if he keept even more of his potions, as Ruff's speartip comes to rest at Varian's pale neck.

"Let go" she says, and there's none of her usual playfulness or sarcasm in it. The man pays no mind to her, or the sharp blade at his throat.

"We're not friends, Viking" Varian snarls. His breath is warm, and Hiccup feels chills on his back again. "Do **not** get familiar with me"

And he pushes Hiccup back, before retreating deeper into the cell.

"You alright?" Ruff gives him a look over, and Hiccup nods, feeling a bit dazed. Ruff then turns to the other pirates "Maybe don't rile him up again? During my shift at least"

Annie's eyes are shiny. Hiccup doesn't know if they're tears or rage, but he doesn't planning getting any closer to find out.

"That's alright. He can rot alone" and she stomps her way past the two man, to her own corner of the cell.

Hiccup and Ruff stay there, in the middle of a silence that gets more and more awkward by the moment.

"Yup" Ruff mutters to herself as she walks Hiccup back to the jailhouse doors. "Sword out of the forge. Needs some more pounding"

And yeah, Hiccup is done with the jailhouse for today, thank you very much.

**4.6 Instinct knows better than mind sometimes**

Hiccup smells of frustration.

His rider often smells like that lately, as well as of the man who smells of moonlight and fire, and Toothless doesn't care for it.

He looks tired and stressed, and some other emotions Toothless can't entirely comprehend. Dragons are pretty straightforward when it comes to emotions, and so Toothless knows what his next course of action is going to be.

The small grey dragon looks at him warily as Toothless walks past the place where the bad humans are locked, and Toothless makes sure to give him a wide berth. He may have small teeth and claws, but they're sharp as needles and quick as the wind, and Toothless respects a worthy adversary.

"Hey boy" Hiccup comes out the door precessed only by the squeaking of his metal leg, and drapes an arm across Toothless' neck. Once again, he smells of fire and moon and desperation. "What brings you over here?"

And honestly, Toothless wants nothing more than to take things in his own claws, and fix the problem right then and there. When one's a dragon, it's very easy to eat one's problems.

However, Hiccup enjoys visiting this man for some reason, even though it makes him frustrated and tired, and Toothless respects his partner... Despite the fact that he just **knows** this is going to end badly. 

So Toothless, a dragon of action rather than contemplation, does what he does best.

He trips Hiccup up on his back, and waits only long enough to hear his metal leg clicking into place to take off.

He can't take the problem away, but he sure can take Hiccup's mind away from it.

**4.7 It takes a sailor to know the sea**

Hans waits for the right time.

He waits until the guard -the wiry young man with the braids pleated like a beard- is snoring loudly in a corner. Until Annie's breathing evens out where she's made herself a bed with Morrigan's forgotten cloak, and Bìhn starts mumbling in chinese, arms crossed over his chest and back to a corner.

Only then does he speak aloud.

"Are you alright?" He asks, without moving from his spot by the bars. His voice is barely a murmur, just loud enough to be heard in the silence, and muted enough to not attract unwanted attention.

"I hardly think it's any of your business" comes the biting response, as Hans knew it would come. "Are you expecting recognition for staying behind? Praise? A declaration of my unbreakable affection for you and the others?"

Varian can't see him, so Hans rolls his eyes. Teenagers. "It would be nice. I'm not though. And I don't think the others are either" he responds. "Mostly I just want to know if you're alright, like I asked"

There's more silence then, for a minute and then two, and then so much that Hans thinks he's not going to reply again and he should be glad to have extracted one answer from him and go to sleep.

"I'm not... I never expected them to be loyal" Varian speaks at last, after Hans has stopped waiting. "I mean I- this is a crew I gained through mutiny. Of course I knew they were turncloaks."

"We weren't expecting it, I can tell you that much" Hans shrugs in his cell. It's always good to not include Varian in general statements, even though they might apply to him. Predicting the Captain's moods is an art. "It's difficult sometimes. It feels like family to me, and sometimes I forget not everyone feels that way" 

Then, in a voice so small that Hans can't help but think of the child that went up on the deck at night to escape the other members of the crew and share dinner leftovers with him, the answer comes.

"I never expected that to be a problem for me" then, a second later "why did you stay?"

Hans mulls over his words for a moment. In the end, he chooses to put them out there. What Varian chooses to do with them is his own business.

"I think _we_ stayed because none of us ever considered it a problem" he starts "as for why _I_ stayed... I'm a simple person, Captain. I do what my gut tells me to do. And my gut tells me this is where I'm supposed to be"

Varian doesn't say a thing after that, but Hans believes that hours later, as he drifts off to sleep, he hears a muted "thanks" coming from the other cell.

**4.8 Don't try to clean the infection, lest you're ready for the blows**

"Will you cease the pestering?" Varian hisses as Hiccup comes into the cell. 

It's not often that he dares coming in, ever since the mutiny. Varian's mood has been even more volatile since his fight with Annie, so Hiccup keeps his guard up even though the pirate is currently curled up in a corner, looking smaller than Hiccup thought possible of someone with such a presence.

"I will if you-"

"Get out"

Hiccup sighs.

"It's not very smart to try and boss me around in my own dungeon Varian"

Varian looks up at him. His eyes are a piercing blue, sharp and cold and Hiccup finds himself remembering to tear his eyes away.

"And what are you going to do?" Varian challenges. Hiccup is suddenly very aware that he chose to lock himself in here, and Inferno calls his hand like a magnet. "Get. Out."

"Tannverk of the Hysterics" Hiccup blurts out. One of Varian's thin eyebrows raises in an elegant arc.

"Who?"

"You and your crew sank her ships. Then she confronted you and you cut off her hand" he explains. "She's looking for you, and honestly? I've half a mind to just hand you over"

"Ah yes. The screaming woman with the spear" Varian rises to his feet. "Hand me over then. What's keeping you? Your friend is back on his feet, and I'll be out of your hair" as he comes closer, Hiccup marvels once more at how the man has no qualms against approaching an enemy while he's disarmed. Even though the pirate is smaller than him and leaner in frame, he knows himself a threat and Hiccup isn't about to ignore the warnings.

_'"-And he's to be put to death. In assaulting our ships as they made their pilgrimage towards Our Lady's temple, they offended the goddess herself. A trial by claw is the only way to rectify his wrong"_

_"A trial by claw?" Dagur asks. Tannverk nods solemnly._

_"He is to be presented in tribute to the vessels of the goddess' guardians, and Bygul and Trjegul will rectify the offense made to their master" she explains._

_Hiccup remembers the names from his lessons, and suddenly a trial "by claw" is not such an inadequate name if they plan on shoving an unarmed man with two feral mountain cats._

_He hears Dagur take in a short breath, and Snout lets out a low whistle as they both connect the dots._

_"That doesn't sound very fair" it takes him a moment, but Hiccup finally speaks again._

_Tannverk shrugs with a crooked smile. "Our lady reigns over war, not justice" she says. "When can we expect you to deliver the rat?"_

_Hiccup knows better than to outright refuse. Logically, he knows they're safe, and they'll be allowed to leave even if he does. The Hysterics won't risk war by killing both the Chief of the Hooligans and the husband of the Berserker Queen._

_Still, Tannverk is a Chief on her own right, and the crimes Varian and his crew committed against her tribe outweigh the damage they caused in Berk; they have the right to judge him as they see fit._

_When did it become Hiccup's decision to throw a man to his death, warranted or not?_

_"I'm afraid I can't make that decision alone" Hiccup says at least. He feels both Dagur and Snout turn to look at him, and pays no attention to them while hoping they don't look as confused as they probably are._

_Across him Tannverk arches an unimpressed eyebrow. "Why? Are you not the Chief of Berk?" she asks. Hiccup sees Snout stiffening out the corner of his eye, but he won't take the bait himself. It's too obvious._

_"I am. And because I am, I have a duty to my tribe and my village" he replies slowly "the ones I've known to make choices for themselves only I call tyrants, not leaders. I'm sure you understand I wish to discuss this with my council back in Berk"_

_Tannverk's face has grown redder with each of Hiccup's carefully worded blows, but she doesn't rise. "Are you denying Lady Freya her due, Chief Hiccup?"_

_The mood in the room changes immediately. He sees Tannverk's warriors reach for their weapons surreptitiously, as he does Dagur and Snout._

_"I wouldn't dare. I respect the Lady of War" Hiccup shrugs. "But I will not be as the Gods and decide over men's lives in my own. I ask you to let me speak to my council, Chief"_

_Outside, Toothless punctuates his words with a snarl, and the Hysteric warriors look slightly nervous._

_This tribe vanquished dragons long ago, and they're only now remembering that also means they have forgotten how to fight the beasts of legend._

_"A fortnight" Tannverk says. She rises to her feet, and so do the three of them. "It's all I will give you. After that, I will come and seize him myself"_

"I wish I knew, to be honest" Hiccup says at last. "Thor knows you don't deserve my mercy"

A few inches from his, Varian's face stills.

His brow furrows lightly, and he looks at Hiccup the way one would at a complicated riddle.

"You wouldn't be the first to deprive me of it" Varian says after what feels like an eternity of staring. "Do you expect me to grovel at your feet and beg to not be turned in?"

Hiccup feels his face growing warm "I don't expect such-"

"Then what do you want?!" Varian grabs him by the lapels of his vest and really, what on Earth is going on?! Why is this man so... _obtuse_?! "What is it that-"

"FOR THE GODS' SAKE I DONT KNOW!" Hiccup cuts into his sentence, and his hands are snapping up to grab a hold of Varian's wrists. The man's eyes widen as he feels himself restrained. "Why do you have to turn everything into a fucking fight?!" Hiccup snarls back in his face.

Their breathing is heavy, and Hiccup can feel stares on his back, but his focus is on the man before him, and his eyes that sparkle lethally like a sharp icicle glinting off the light of your torch before snapping off and impaling you.

"Let go of me" says Varian at last.

"Tell me where you come from" Hiccup says

"I'm warning you"

"You're in no position to-!" Hiccup's responding snarl is cut short as Varian lifts his right leg to kick him straight in the balls.

Hus entire body cramps with pain and he lets go of Varian's wrists to crouch on the floor, Hiccup has a thought as Fishlegs hastily opens the door to the cell to pull him out.

He should throw him to the fucking cats himself.


	5. Chapter 5

_Her lady is one of war, but Tannverk doesn't relish on the act of if. She marches into battle for love of her goddess, for the duty she bears her, the same attitude with which she approaches sex._

_In her heart of hearts, Tannverk is an scientist, and she'd much rather keep to herself and her discoveries._

_Still days go by, and it seems that for her lady she will have to drop the delicate crystal jars and take up her spear again._

_She'd expected chief Hiccup to be reasonable, to put his tribe's welfare over a miscreant's life, but no news have come from Berk._

_Using the sharp blade of her prosthetic's thumb, she carves another notch in the wooden calendar._

_Behind her, the clansfolk load crates and packages onto the ships._

\---

**5.1 If you keep swimming, at some point you'll reach the shore**

"You still mad?" Bìhn says as greeting when he sits down next to Annie after dinner. Hans is snoring on the corner, his bowl of stew untouched next to him. Honestly, he's starting to look thinner in his clothes, and Bìhn is happy he doesn't share his culinary sensitivities. 

Next to him, Annie grunts.

Bìhn lifts a hand and places it slowly on top of her messy black curls, ready to snatch it back and throw himself out of the way. When Annie doesn't want to be comforted, she makes it clear.

"You know he doesn't really mean it"

"Then why did he say it?" Annie snaps. She doesn't shake his hand off though, so he stays by her side. He darts a look at Varian's cell, but the captain is curled with Ruddiger on the far corner. 

Bìhn shrugs. "He's angry"

"Angry at _them_ , he's got no right to take it out on us" 

"I think he's just..." Before he completed his sentence, Bìhn chances another look at the cell. Still sleeping. Safe. "I think he's scared we're gonna leave too"

Annie rolls her eyes, but she leans into Bìhn's side with a huff. "How would you even know that?"

"Well, the captain doesn't trust easily. Makes sense he's doubting what trust he had in us when the others betrayed him" Bìhn explains. It's difficult to think of the captain as scared or hurt, but it's significantly easier if he remembers how young he truly is. "Also I heard him telling it to Hans the other night"

And that seems to do the trick, as Annie erupts in giggles at his admission.

"Such a Mastermind" she jabs. Bìhn smirks, pulling her to his side in a rough hug.

"You know me"

"Aye... I just thought he knew us too" she says with a sigh, and that won't do. They were getting to a good place, no use in getting sad again.

"He does. It's a rough patch, he'll be back to normal in no time"

Annie looks up at him, her eyes narrowed. "How can you be so sure? How do you not feel... Cast aside?"

Here he shrugs again, tangling a curl around his pointer to give it a friendly tug.

"He's my captain. I chose to follow him, and that's that. If he doesn't see it... I'll just have to follow him a little harder I think" he explains

"And why didn't Dormand inspire this kind of loyalty?" Comes a cold voice from the cell across the hall. Bìhn curses under his breath as he feels Annie stiffen and look stubbornly away. He could've sworn Varian was asleep, but now he's staring right at them from behind two sets of bars, and it still doesn't feel like enough protection from that piercing gaze. "Or will this only last until a better option comes along?"

And yes, now that Bìhn is forcing himself to remember the Captain's real age, this comes across less as a reprimand and more as a wounded youngster.

In the end, he decides to speak with the truth. Going from the overheard conversation with Hans, it seems to be the only thing capable to disarm their Captain.

"I stopped looking for a better option a while ago Captain" he says.

Varian frowns.

"How sweet" he spits, before turning around. 

It lacks a bite though.

Bìhn smiles.

**5.2 Like pulling teeth from a dragon**

"Why are you so stubborn?!" Hiccup exclaims "You've lost, you're captured! Let me at least get you a damned fair trial!"

Varian smiles. It's soft and barely there, just the curve of the corner of his lightly chapped lips, but it's more than Hiccup's seen in a week and a half.

"Chief dear if you think my birthplace will grant me a fair trial then you're not as sharp as I thought. Quite a disappointment actually" he says without turning. He's mixing some sort of foul smelling liquid with flowers he's grabbing from a pile the raccoon has sneaked him in. 

Hiccup takes a deep breath, more to calm his frustration than to get oxygen in him. "I'm not letting you go Varian. And you're not escaping, I think we've established that. I _know_ you're sharp enough to have noticed that by now"

Varian turns at that, an unsettlingly blue eye gleaming with mirth at him over a lean shoulder. Hiccup has a spare second to wonder if his eyes being such an intense hue is a side effect of his magic, when he speaks.

"Is that why you won't come in anymore Chief?" He says. His voice is soft like the silk the Eastern merchants trade them for the dragon scales. "Am I too sharp? Did I scare you before maybe?"

Hiccup scoffs at that, though he can feel his face reddening at the man's voice. "I ride dragons. You don't scare me."

"Come in then"

"Why do you even- stop trying to distract me!" Hiccup stomps his prosthetic on the jailhouse stone floor. "If you don't-"

"Mhm. Do me a favor will you?" Varian climbs to his feet then, to walk to the bars. Hiccup doesn't quite flinch, but he gets ready for any movement that might be required. "My my, no need to be so tense, if you're not scared of me" Varian smiles as he rests a forearm on the bars over his head, leaning in until Hiccup can count the freckles dusting his nose.

"You're not exactly the most stable here" Hiccup arches an eyebrow. Varian is moving slowly, with amusement written in the curve of his lips and every sway of limbs. Hiccup's seen Toothless move like that, when he humors the baby dragons with their games.

Varian moves again, this time thrusting a hand through the bars. Hiccup leans back to avoid the punch, but it never comes. Rather, it stops before his face, the thin wrist waiting in front of his nose.

"Just a sniff. Tell me what you think?"

Hiccup can hear one of the pirates in the other cell chuckling, but the sound is muted like it was coming through water.

What he thinks is that the skin in Varian's wrist is pale and surprisingly unmarred. He can see thin blue veins snaking under the surface. What he thinks is that it looks too fragile, for a creature that's caused so much pain.

"Come on" Varian smirks and winks an eye. "And I'll give you a hint"

Hiccup frowns. It'd be downright stupid to follow whatever instruction Varian gives him, especially when he just saw him playing with his magic equipment. 

Still, Varian has kept his word when his requirements are met.

He leans forward a little, and Varian seems to take it as acceptance because he curves the wrist up and brings it closer to Hiccup's face.

The tip of Hiccup's nose brushes ever so softly against the inside of Varian's wrist, and a thick floral scent drifts from the skin, flooding Hiccup's senses. It smells like the jasmine crowns brides wear to the wedding arch, sweet and tangy and Hiccup finds himself inhaling deeply on reflect.

He then catches a glance of Varian's mirthful smirk and jerks back.

"Too strong" he says, and his voice is hoarse. Must be whatever he used to make the perfume. The pirate in the other cell laughs again. "Now speak"

"Thank you for your input" Varian retrieves his hand after flicking Hiccup on the nose. "But I did promise, so..."

Hiccup hears movement in the cell behind him, and he arches an eyebrow. Surely it's common knowledge between the crew, where each of them comes from?

"It's quite sunny" Varian says after a minute of contemplation. Hiccup hears the woman on the other cell gasp, but he pays her no mind.

"You could use a trip back then, you're paler than a bone" Hiccup says. The scent of jasmine still lingers in his nose, but he restrains the urge to rub it. "So what's the hint?"

Varian's eyes gleam again, and Hiccup _knows_ what's coming.

"Hiccup, surely someone as genial as you could figure it out with less than that" and he retreats to his corner, a last look over his shoulder. "I'm just giving you an extra because you're pretty"

**5.3 As danger looms**

Dagur loves Caldera Cay.

It's where Mala grew up, where the Defenders reside, where his whole life is, and he wouldn't trade it for the world, even if he misses his old village at times.

Still, it's nice to just go out with Shattermaster every once in a while, and be alone with his thoughts.

Besides, Mala has been quite sensitive lately, and Dagur thought it would be better to give her some space for the day.

Perhaps he could go and visit Hiccup, see how he's faring with his stubborn prisoner and set Shattermaster free with the other dragons. For all of its magnificence, the Great Protector makes for a lousy playmate, and Dagur loves seeing Shatter bounce around with Meatlug.

They Gronkle makes a curious noise and drops several meters in the air, ripping Dagur away from his thoughts and making him cling to the saddle for dear life, until he sees what caught the dragon's attention. 

Out in the distance, and partially hidden by the low hanging clouds Shatter is fluttering by, are ships.

They're far enough that Dagur cannot see the crew clearly, but the make of it is none he recognizes, and they're sailing without flag.

And towards Berk.

His hands grip tighter to the saddle's edges as he considers his options.

"Quiet boy" he whispers to Shattermaster, and the dragon stops his panting. Perhaps it's an extreme precaution, but sound carries easily over water and if Dagur's suspicions are correct, they don't want to be noticed. "Let's go see Meatlug, come on"

The dragon's tiny ears perk at the other's name, and he speeds up and away from the ships. 

They're sailing slow and stealthily, and Dagur knows he will be able to give Berk days of advantage to prepare.

He just hopes it'll be enough.

**5.4 Peaceful silence hurts when shattered**

Hans winces when the jailhouse door is kicked open.

He nudges Bìhn with a foot, and leans against the bars as Bìhn does the same with Annie.

"Good morning Hiccup. Demon" the Captain adresses both the Chief and Astrid, when they come to stand by his cell. None of them acknowledge his greeting though.

"There are ships coming towards Berk" the Chief says. His voice is deadly serious and doesn't hold any of the doubt it usually has when addressing the Captain. 

Hans arches an eyebrow. 

"I should congratulate you on good trade relations then?" The Captain says, and Hans can imagine the unimpressed stare. "I have no idea why this is any of my business but stil-"

"Can you stop playing?" The Chief interrupts him. "We know it's the rest of your crew coming back for you. Just tell us what the plan is"

The Captain laughs at this, and even Hans cracks a smile.

"If you think those rats are coming back you're delusional. Honestly Hiccup, I thought you were smart but you let me down further every day". He says.

Astrid looks at the Chief questioningly. The Chief's jaw twitches and he nods sharply.

The door to the cell cracks open and the mood in the jailhouse changes immediately. 

Hans climbs to his feet, and he hears Annie and Bìhn do the same behind him. The Captain looks warily at the woman, but he stays firmly planted on his spot when she takes a step towards him.

"You're going to tell me how many people are coming and when" Astrid says. Her voice is steel and ice, and she slides her axe through the cell bars. "Or I'm going to make you tell me"

"You've been waiting for this huh?" The Captain even dares flashing her a smile, though it's dry. The woman's in contrast, is bitter and amused.

"I won't lie to you" and she charges.

The Captain is a good fighter, especially when underestimated by his foes. However, he does a much better job of fighting when in an open space, when he's armed, and when he hasn't been crammed into a cell for nearly a month and a half.

The woman on the other hand, is well exercised and rested, and even though the Captain gets in a few good punches and kicks her off him twice, she's got him against the wall before long, an arm twisted behind his back.

Her nose is bleeding profusely from a headbutt Varian gave, but she pays it no mind as she pushes him flatter against the stone.

"Start. Speaking" she spits at his back.

"You brutes are even more stupid than I thought at first" Varian grunts. Hans can see him trying to get leverage to push against the wall, to kick his captor's legs from under her, but to no avail. "You clearly can't see it when someone is telling you the truth"

"I don't care for the pretty talk, Pirate. All I want is two words. How many-" and she must give the Captain's arm a twist, because he grunts in pain again. "- and when. You can choke on anything else you have to say"

"And here I thought you were the fair one" Annie snaps. Despite his white knuckled grip on the bars, Hans feels a soft warmth on his stomach. Annie still resents the Captain greatly for the way he treated them, but it's obvious she cares still. "But you're just another savage"

"I'm protecting my _home_ " Astrid speaks back, punctuating the words with yet another twist. "I will break as many bones as I need to keep my people safe. I've snapped bigger longs than this twig. If you don't want to see it then you're more than welcome to give us the information"

"There is no information you idiotic beast!" The Captain snarls from her grip. "Those ships are not with us, and whatever ill fate heads this way through the sea you imbeciles have brought on yours-" Varian's rant morphs into a pained scream as Astrid pushes further on his arm, and her other hand grabs a handful of his hair to pull his neck as far back as it will go. 

"LAST WARNIN-"

"YOU'RE INSANE" the Captain screams

"He doesnt-" Annie gets pushed aside by Bìhn, and a sizeable rock is flying across the hall, only for Astrid to block it from her face with a forearm. It doesn't make her let go of the Varian's arm, but at least she's no longer twisting his neck.

"He probably does, and he's gonna tell me" Astrid snarls back at them "or we'll find out how well he can do his magic tricks with a broken arm"

"Let him go Astrid" a new voice interrupts. 

Hans' eyebrows raise, when he notices his are not the only white knuckled hands around bars. 

"You can't possibly be believing this crap" Astrid glares at the Chief "he's done nothing but cause trouble since we got him, and this time is not different! I'm not risking the village because you-"

"Astrid, please" the Chief repeats. His voice is steady but soft, and Hans gets the feeling that his eyes are pleading at the woman rather than commanding.

In the end, the woman snarls and gives the Captain's arm a last twist -possibly just because she's enraged and wants to hurt him- before shoving him away and stomping her way out the cell.

The Captain gets back on his feet heavily, just as the gate is closing. His face is flushed and he's panting, his eyes burning with anger.

"Varian" the Chief speaks again, Astrid's stomps towards the jailhouse exit the only background noise to his words.

"Is it your turn to toss me around now?" Varian spits at his feet. "Come in then"

The Chief moves, then flinches back when Varian snarls. "That's a good way to lose a hand" 

"Are those your ships?" The Chief asks.

"They are not" Varian says. There's a silence then, before Varian speaks again "but I hope they burn this shithole to the ground when they get here"

**5.5 Omens**

Cloudjumper's glide feels a tad shoddier than usual. Valka pokes at his ear teasingly, but also knows this means he's nervous.

The dragons are returning to the island for the night. Some carry prey in their talons, some their young, some are already balling down at their nests.

The Nadders are preening, the Gronkles have already formed their sleeping pile...

She frowns as they glide over the Monstrous Nightmare huddle. There's one missing.

Normally she wouldn't have noticed; it's not like she has a detailed log on every dragon that steps on Berk, but she's been paying particularly close attention to this male, mostly because he's old and beginning to slow down.

Maybe he went to Vanaheim already, the sentinel dragons wouldn't let any others of the flock in, but he wasn't that sick, so Valka doubts it.

"Let's go check in on them, Cloudjumper" she mutters into the dragon's ear, and holds down as he plummets towards the ground.

From down here it's easy to see that Cloudjumper is not the only nervous dragon in the island.

The Nightmares snap at her a couple times, necks tense like they're going to burst aflame. They relax when Cloudjumper coos at them, but Valka finds it unsettling that none of them will take a step towards her, when she's usually so well loved by the dragons.

"Well... Seems like old SpicyFarts decided to leave early" she tells Cloudjumper as she climbs on his back. "Let's go tell Hiccup, Toothless will be able to calm these ones down"

Cloudjumper growls in agreement, but he looks back several times as they circle Berk.

Going to Hiccup is the right idea it seems.

\---

_Strictly speaking, it's not necessary to take down the beast._

_It's slow and fat, its age evident even to their untrained eyes. Killing it will bring no honor._

_Still, Tannverk knows her warriors. They're geniuses at their craft all of them, but more importantly they're devout enough to their Lady to have abandoned said craft._

_They're good warriors, merciless and brave, but Hysteria hasn't seen a dragon attack since the times of her great-great-grandmother._

_They don't know how to fight these beasts the Hooligans control so easily, have long since forgotten their weaknesses and strengths in the decades of peace after their ancestors' victory._

_Tannverk knows her warriors, and she knows how to boost their trust._

_"Let's take that disgusting thing down" she grunts to her second in command._

_Pieru nods and blows once on the trumpet to signal the hunt._

_The dragon's limp body slams against the water only minutes after, pierced by numerous harpoons. Some of them are still on fire from its attempted defense, but the deal is done._

_The Hysterics double down the pace to their destination, with confidence in their hearts and steadier hands on their wespons._

_Strictly speaking, it wasn't necessary._

_Tannverk remembers Aivastaa, pristine and beautiful in her priestess robes the day she embarked to their Lady's sanctuary._

_She spits bitterly at the floating corpse._

\---

**5.6 Fill the cracks with molten gold, make it prettier than before**

"Hey" comes Varian's voice from his cell. Annie keeps her head stubbornly down. Beaten down or otherwise, Varian has no right to talk to her the way he did, when all she's ever offered is loyalty. "I know you're angry"

"Gee, you're sharp" she says. "Don't talk to me"

"I won't. Just..." And she hears a soft pitter patter of paws. Ruddiger is squeezing himself into her cell then, walking on three paws. 

Annie shoots a sideways glare at the man. Using dirty tricks of course.

She lets the racoon climb into her lap, _he_ hasn't done anything wrong, and his fur is warm soft and comforting.

"Hey Rudd. Whatcha got there?" She asks. The animal looks up at her with his sweet brown eyes, and offers the objects on his tiny hand. 

A small capped bottle made of carved stone. She smirks. The make of it is foreign from Varian's usual delicate glass, and she wonders who in the village found themselves short, and had to wipe small pawprints from their counters. 

The other is a small rolled up piece of parchment, and she puts it pointedly aside along with the bottle, before going back to squeezing Ruddiger's cheeks.

She can feel Varian's pointed stare on her, but she ignores it. 

On the other side of the cell, Bìhn chuckles and Hans elbows him with a smile. She pokes her tongue out at them.

It's only after hours pass, after Snout comes in with dinner and Ruddiger eschews her company for his owner's at the corner of their cell, that Annie gives the offerings a second glance.

"So you gonna open them or not?" Says Bìhn. He plops himself down next to her, all lanky limbs, bony elbows and knowing smirks. "Or are you gonna make him break out and in here just to apologize?"

"I'm definitely gonna open the unlabelled bottle the criminal alchemist sent over, you're right" she drops the bottle back on the floor and crosses her arms over her chest. It's undoubtedly some sort of corrosive for the bars, or tear gas, and he's giving her the honors to try and apologize.

"So you're scared?" Bìhn asks again, elongating the last word. Annie considers how much strength she needs to use to break the bottle over his head.

Hans skips a pebble to knock on Bìhn's knee, and he lifts his hands in an appeasing gesture. Annie feels her lips curl into a soft smile.

She grabs for the bottle first, but stops. Perhaps it's petty on her part, but she wants to see what he has to say for himself first, before she opens the stupid bottle and they all escape the prison.

The parchment is unusually thick, not unexpected from these Vikings, and the writing inside is not ink but charcoal smudged from the friction.

In spidery and elegant calligraphy is a note.

It takes her a second to recognize the language from disuse alone, but it comes like music from a song you had forgotten. She remembers her teacher, a brown skinned woman who taught her the language of Avalor,and told her the story of the evil sorceress Shuriki at the end of each class.

_"I wouldn't go back for the world. That doesn't mean I don't miss things sometimes, and I figure you feel a similar way. It doesn't make us less than the others. And caring doesn't either. I apologize. I cannot bring Evangeline to you. But I hope this brings you peace after the anger I caused you._  
Regards  
Great Duke Varian of Corona" 

Annie attempts to keep her emotions still in her face, but she knows some must be shining through. Either the sorrow at reading her sister's name, the giddiness at making the ever proud Captain apologize, or the sheer shock of learning she's been teasing a Great Duke about how much he wants to fuck the Chief.

Her hands are trembling softly as she places the note down and picks up the bottle, no longer so sure of its contents.

When she lifts the heavy stopper, a soft scent wafts up from the bottle. Jazmine and a hint of rose tickle her nose, and she feels her eyes water.

It's not quite the fancy essences her lady in waiting dabbed on her wrists and nape, but it smells much sweeter for the memory it evokes.

"Did I make you cry?" Varian's voice comes from across the prison. It's careful, joking in nature and tone, but with a nervous treble to it.

Annie smiles, though her nose feels stuffy. 

"Like a baby. Or you after your pretty Chief set his guard on you" she bites back. Bìhn laughs. Han smiles.

Everything is alright.

**5.7 The hunt is on**

This is important, Snout reminds himself. Life or death.

Whatever happens to Berk on the next few days depends on what he and Hookfang find today.

The fact that they're doing their best to stealthily follow a raccoon certainly doesn't feel very heroic, but that's secondary.

Hiccup is _convinced_ Varian is using the tiny furball to send messages back and forth with the escaped pirates, and it should be a testament to how much Snout had grown and how much he respects his baby cousin that he's willing to take on the chore of following the oversized rat around Berk.

Especially considering the racoon just managed to lose them _again_.

"Aren't you supposed to be an apex predator?" He asks Hookfang, and gives his snout a light smack. "How can you lose a raccoon?! Thing's super stinky, for Thor's sake!"

Hookfang snarls and shoves him back. Snout sits on a rock and takes off his helmet to wipe the sweat off his forehead.

"This is why we were never first in line for chiefdom, Hook" he says. To Hookfang's credit, he's empathetic enough to his rider's mood. He curls around the rock and blows a hot, foul smelling cloud in his direction. "Yeah, you're right. Nobody wants to be Chief, look at Hiccup! He's got all this crap going on, and he's got to get married and protect the village and... Nobody wants to be Chief, really"

Hookfang chirps in agreement, and Snout pats his nostril. The dragon is dumb as nails, but then again so is he. Their strength lies in their willingness to do idiotic shit for the people they love. Which reminds him...

"Enough of a rest. Gotta find that furry ball of lard and-" Snout stops where he's taken a few steps into the forest. Hookfang isn't following. "Uh... You alright?"

The dragon seems to be focused on the beach at the foot of the cliff, and his muscles are rippling in nervous anticipation.

"Hookfan- AH" the man's words become a shout when Hookfang grabs him around the chest and takes off on a glide towards the beach.

Snout is most definitely not panicking and/or remembering the terrifying bedtime stories his father used to tell him about the dragons attacking the village and stealing kids to devour, but his rational mind is having a tough time holding onto the fact that dragons and Vikings have been allies for over a decade now.

The bond of friendship is a lot easier to appreciate when you're not trapped between a dragon's jaws.

The glide ends abruptly, and Snout is dropped on the floor as Hookfang lets out a furious roar at _something_.

"What in Hel was that?!" Snout yells. He's trying to climb to his feet and push sand and hair out of his eyes, and all the noise his stupid dragon is making doesn't help at all "That's it, you're eating eels for the next-" his next words die in his lips, as he finally takes in the view before them and why Hookfang is so agitated.

The dead Monstrous Nightmare rests bloated on the sand, where the crashing waves deposited it. Saltwater and black combustion fluid oozes from the places where numerous harpoons stabbed its body, staining a shadow under it.

"This is... This is bad Hook" Snout says, already reaching for his saddle. 

The dragon snarls in agreement and waits only as long as it takes his rider to get on the saddle before taking off. 

**5.8 I know not how magnets work, but there's a force keeping me here**

"So what's the deal?" Asks the guard. It's the brute with the braids on his chin, Tuffnut if Varian remembers correctly. 

"Excuse me?" He asks back. He's quite busy, checking Ruddiger's latest boon. 

"Yeah like... You made up with your guys like two days ago and you haven't tried to escape once." The man examines the tip of his knife. "You're about to make me lose the betting pool"

"I couldn't care less" Varian frowns "now off with you, I'm done listening to you"

"Is it because of-"

Varian shoots a hand between the bars, grabbing the man's braided hair and using it to bring his face against the bars.

"Listen to me, you disgraceful waste of oxygen" he gives the braids a little leeway and then a pull to slam the man back against the metal "even if I were interested in sharing my motives with you, I have little to no doubt that the pitiful puddle of pleghm you call brains would have as little chance of understanding them as-"

"As you of getting out of here?" The man sneers. Varian blinks at the interruption; he certainly wasn't expecting him to bite back. "I mean we don't care, Hiccup will get bored of you eventually and then it's just a matter of deciding how we dispose of you. So if I were you, I'd spend less time pretending to own the prison and more trying to actually escape"

They stare at each other for a moment, Varian's eyes narrowed in anger and Tuff's half lidded with amusement. 

Eventually though, Varian lets go of the man's fake beard.

"Thought so, yep" Tuffnut says as he rides to his full height. "Anyways, it's almost dinnertime. I'll be back with your trays in a while" he begins walking towards the exit, before throwing giddily over his shoulder "Barf and Belch are standing guard while I'm gone, don't worry!"

"Imbecile" Varian mutters under his breath. It seems he underestimated this one.

"Captain?" Bìhn's voice comes from the other cell, and Varian turns to look at them. "Why _are_ we still here actually? Surely it's easier to sneak out four of us than it was with the whole crew?"

Behind Bìhn, Varian sees Annie snort and roll her eyes, and Hans giving her a stern look.

Instead of wondering whatever that means, he chooses to focus on Bìhn's question.

Why _are_ they still here?

He has mixed enough paralyzing gas to put even the bigger dragons to the ground, and a good acid that will make short work of the metal bars in a couple minutes.

Sure, the Viking ships are probably not fit to be the new Chrysopoeia, but they will do until they touch port and steal a new one. And recruit a new crew. And head back to their base to figure out whether or not the filthy traitors have taken their boon with them. And then find and kill said traitors...

Varian sighs. It all sounds so terribly, _dreadfully_ dull.

"Just getting a few more details right" he says in the end. "There's less of us to sneak out, but also less of us to get away. I wouldn't want us to get caught again" 

Annie snorts again, and Hans shushes her. Bìhn nods.

"Gotcha. Let us know when it's time then, and what we should do" he says. Varian wonders how he ever came to doubt these three's loyalty. Not his finest moment, by a long shot.

Varian turns back to his corner, holds Ruddiger to his chest. 

Why _is_ he here?

\---

_The fog begins clearing on the morn of the sixth day, and Tannverk stands guard at the helm of the ship._

_The slight seabreeze has frozen on her side shoulders, and her hands clenched over her spear are so tightly wound she doesn't think she'll be able to open them without divine intervention._

_Which is lucky, because this is a holy war they've brought._

_Today they restore their Lady's honor. Today they right the wrongs of men, and clean the stain the alchemist spat on Hysteria's heart._

_Today she drags him back screaming and crying, and places his heart on her shelf to replace the one she lost._

_On the horizon, Berk sleeps still._


	6. Chapter 6

Slobber yawns, rubbing the remaining sleep off his eyes with a small fist.

Mom says he will grow up, and Slobber can't wait. Small as he is, he keeps losing the wrestling matches with his siblings and always ends up assigned to morning shepherd duty, taking the stupid things out before the sun has even risen.

One of the sheep bleats at him in annoyance. Not even they like being out this early. Needlefang, his Terrible Terror, growls and swipes at the sheep until it gets back in line. 

"Good girl" Slobber mumbles as he sits by the pine tree at the top of the hill "I'm gonna tell Snotty she can have my honey porridge tonight if she takes morning duty tomorrow. We need some sleep"

Needlefang nods in agreement, and she curls in his lap.

Honestly, why do they even need shepherding anymore? The wolves and wildcats know better than to come close to the sheep when they smell like dragon. Slobber leans back against the tree trunk. Needlefang is warming his belly, and he feels the drowsiness he thought banished come back with a vengeance.

"You gotta wake me up if something happens, ok?" He pokes Needlefang's round belly, and the little dragon chirps back. Slobber sleeps.

Slobber wakes.

He's being roughly lifted up by the collar of his shirt, looking into the face of a snarling man.

"Which way to the jailhouse, child?" Asks someone to his right. Slobber turns his head to find a huge woman with a golden chestplate and a spear. She has Needlefang held by the neck, and the dragon is looking at him, worried.

Now, Slobber might not be the smartest in the village, a long shot from Chief Hiccup's genius. 

But he knows an invasion when he sees it.

"NEEDLE GO TO THE ALPHA!" he yells. She looks at him, and he can tell she doesn't want to obey. "GO" 

Exhorted by his last yell, Needlefang slashes at the woman's hand, and manages to squirm free before taking wing.

Slobber makes use of the chaos that ensues as the Invaders try to catch her -useless really, no one can catch Needle if she doesn't want to be held- and bites his captor's finger hard enough that he tastes blood before he's dropped.

He sees Needle fall as he runs, her body pierced by a pearly tipped spear.

There are tears running down his face, but if she can't tell the Alpha then _he_ has to, he's their only hope.

Slobber doesn't see the crossbow aimed at his back, or the woman giving a last, grim nod.

\----

"Did you hear that?" Annie asks. Of course they did; Bíhn is already climbing atop Hans' shoulders to look through the window.

Outside there's another scream, but not a terrified one like the first. This is fierce, fearless. A battle cry. It's followed by the sounds of steel against steel, grunts and yells and all that reminds her of battle.

"They're... Being attacked?" Bìhn frowns. "The others are Vikings too Captain, but their armors are different"

"What do they look like?" Varian asks. Annie looks to his cell only to find he's already gathered all his stuff. She stiffens.

"Gold plate? Curvy spears" Bìhn replies, and things get into motion. 

Varian splashes the bars with the content of a vial, and kicks at them when they begin to smoke. 

They fall cluttering to the ground, and Annie's stepping back for him to splash their own cell's bars with the rest of the liquid.

It feels weird, to finally be in on one of Varian's escapes. The last one too.

The rest of the crew had at least honored their word and left their weapons in the small room near the exit, and Annie's heart speeds up with excitement when her hand closed around the handle of her rapier.

The door to freedom opens without any major issue, as the guards are probably needed elsewhere.

The chaos is deafening, dragons roaring and warriors screaming all around, and no one paying an ounce of attention to them, thankfully.

"A ship Ruddiger!" Varian orders the raccoon and of course, he's been roaming the island. The little critter takes off running, and they follow, so close to leaving this stinky island be-

"Let her go!" That's Hans' voice, and Annie wants to scream. Nothing good ever comes when Hans sounds that angry. 

She turns along with Bìhn and Varian, and sure enough, she finds trouble.

Hans is holding one of the invader Vikings with his sword to his throat. Said Viking currently has a girl whose clothes look Berkian with a dagger to her throat.

Before them stand another two kids, covered in blood and holding small axes.

"Whatever do you want kids for?!" Hans snarls again, pushing the dagger harder against the man's neck. 

"Hostage exchange" the Viking grunts. "No harm will come to them as long as they don't make trouble"

"Kids have no place in a war!" Hans replies, his eyes full of an intensity Annie hasn't seen before.

She looks over her shoulder to the others, and finds that both are watching calmly, like Hans isn't thwarting their escape to help some brats.

"I told you, no harm-"

"He's lying!" Screams one of the other kids. "He killed Warts he did, only for speaking back!"

Annie hears Varian give a little whistle, sees him rubbing the back of his neck in resignation.

She then hears the Viking choking on his own blood as Hans slits his throat and lets his body fall to the ground.

"There, you're safe. Let's get you in one of the- hey!" Hans extends a hand towards the sprinting kids, all running vaguely northbound and very clearly away from him. 

Annie groans "Stupid kids, can't even tell when someone is helping the- WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

Her scream comes too late though, as Hans sprints after one of the kids.

"Don't waste your breath Annie" Varian comes to pat her shoulder. "Watch his back will you Bìhn?" 

And Bìhn takes off after Hans without a word.

"What the hell are we supposed to do then?" Annie snarls, shaking Varian's stupid hand off her. She's _not_ going back to the cell because Hans wanted to play babysitter.

Varian's eyes fix on something behind her, and she turns in time to see a black mass flashing across the sky. "You're going to follow Ruddiger and prepare a ship" Varian's voice brings her back to him. "We're gonna need it when Hans is done with his unexpected heroism. Wait for us in the east side of the island in one hour"

"And where are _you_ going?" She frowns

"I'm gonna make sure Hans is done fast, of course" Varian gives her a last nod and rushes off in the direction the other two took.

"If they're not there in an hour" she says to the racoon, who's looking expectantly up at her "we're dumping them and moving to Brazil"

\----

Astrid screams as she buries the head of her axe in another man's skull.

She doesn't recognize the armor or the weapons, but Hiccup has confided in her. She knows who these are, knows what they're here for.

"GET THE CHILDREN TO THE HALL" she yells at a passing man. He's got two girls in his blood-soaked arms and he bends as he runs to lift a boy with an injured leg.  
The sight of relief in the boy's face as he gets swept in the safe(r) embrace of the warrior makes her blood boil.

These imbeciles are trampling over everything she stands for. They're disrespecting Hiccup as a Chief, and his right to decide over his prisoner. They're violating treaties of peace that have stood in place for decades. 

They're murdering innocents.

Whatever that wet weasel down at the dungeons did, it doesn't merit this. You can't wash away blood with blood.

A Nadder falls dead to her left, and her heart stops for a second before her brain registers the scales are purple and not blue, but the hit feels too close still. The dragons are just protecting their den, their young, their riders

"Valka!" She yells when Cloudjumper soars above her. The dragon immediately changes directions -knocking a harpoon aimed at his belly with a well timesd flick of the tail- and lands next to her.

"What do you need?" Valka lifts her Bewilderbeast helm to ask. Perhaps once upon a Time she'd have felt self conscious at ordering the Chief's mother around, but today she's the Captain of Berk's warriors, and she has a village to protect. 

"Take Skullcrusher and the other Horns around! Back them up against the Halls!" She orders 

"On it!" Valka yells back. She lowers her helm, and Cloudjumper takes off in a gust of air. Astrid hears her scream, sees Skullcrusher's heavy glide to join them, and returns her attention to the fight.

Let's see how they do with the thick-skinned RumbleHorns pushing at their backs. 

When her next foe falls, she cups her hand around her mouth and makes her call for Stormfly.

She delights in the way the Hysteric warriors before her pale and step back, looking at her warily. Let them think she's a dragon in disguise, at least for a while. 

Her dragon lands on the top of the Hall, and Astrid spares a moment after kicking a woman to the ground.

"Stormfly! Go away girl, go get Shattermaster!" She screams at her. The Nadder turns her head to the side, to be able to see her. "Quick, go! Go find Shattermaster and I'll give you chicken for dinner!" She tries again. Stormfly's intelligence is always questionable, but she trusts her. She _has_ to, right now.

After another moment of contemplation, Stormfly roars and rains a volley of spikes over Astrid's head. 

A man that tried sneaking up to her lays dead at her feet.

Stormfly takes off, and disappears in the distance.

Astrid returns her gaze to the fray. Her stance is firm, her hands are dripping blood, there's fire in her gut and her body's covered in scales.

Let them know she's a dragon in disguise.

 

\----

He expected as much, but his heart still fastens when he finds the kids again. They seemed to be aiming for the highest point of the village, but of course that's where all the invaders are heading for as well, and they're once more struggling to free themselves of an attacker.

Hans knows these kids are not entirely defenseless, from the way they kick and bite and swing at the Viking's legs with their little axes. He also knows they don't know or trust him, that they were running from him as much as they were running for shelter. 

He knows none of these kids is Hildegard, but it doesn't matter right now. 

Right now he throws himself at the man, toppling him to the ground while he's distracted batting the children away from him.

They fall into a tangle of limbs, but Hans manages to climb on top of the other and punch him on the face hard enough to knock him out.

Perhaps it's the memory of Hilde, or just his experience from ten minutes ago, but Hans shoots a hand just in time to catch the newly freed child as he's making to dart away.

"Don't! Don't run again!" He tries to make himself heard over the chaos of battle. The kid is scratching at his wrist with his free hand, little face scrunched in panic. Hans wonders where the other two are, and why haven't they come in defense of him. "They're everywhere! I'll take you, just tell me where-"

The kid's eyes look past him, and his face contorts into a scream of terror. Hans looks back in time to see a second Viking striking at him with a spear.

He pushes himself back, to cover more of the kid with his body and to see his killer's face. If he doesn't die fighting on his feet, this is still acceptable.

Then the Viking freezes, and a very familiar swordtip sprouts from his chest before he topples down.

Varian tugs it free of the body, and Tenebras looks just like Hans remembers it, the all black blade seeming to devour all light that comes near it.

"You're welcome" Varian says with a grin and a raised eyebrow, as Hans lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "Bíhn has the other two"

He turns to look, and finds Bìhn and the other two kids entangled in a terrible combat that apparently froze when Hans and their little friend were about to be killed, for the girl has a handful of Bìhn's hair in her clenched fist, and the boy has his legs around his neck.

"Thanks... Thanks, I-" Hans tries to explain, only to stop at the sight of Varian's raised hand.

"Not necessary. Just take them where you wanna take them. Annie's waiting for us" he says. 

Hans nods, and looks down at the little boy in his grasp. "Where are you to go in case of battle?" He asks. He makes no move to rise, choosing to remain on his level instead.

"The Great Halls" the child says after a moment of sullen silence. "I don't know you" he remarks after.

"My name is Hans" he says immediately. "My friends and I are going to get you close to the Halls, and then we're gonna go"

"How do we know you won't take us too?!" Screams the girl, giving Bìhn's hair a yank. "You came out of the prison!" Hans looks at the girl with raised eyebrows, surprised that she had the wit to pinpoint where they came from as she was being taken.

"And that should be an indication for you, little bugger" Varian's face comes before Hans can answer, and he winces. Varian's manners are cutting at best and enraging at worst. "We're going to drop you and the other brats in sight of the hall, and then we're going to bolt it out of this stinky pile of dragon manure, because we're _not_ going back in the cells. Good enough?"  
He asks, shooting the girl an unimpressed stare.

The girl looks straight back at him, eyes narrowed, and huffs. "I'm gonna tell Hiccup"

Varian laughs at this. "Please do, now where-"

And well, it's just not possible to have a calm conversation in a battlefield, it seems. Four more men and women come at them from behind a hut, and they seem to recoil a little as they see them, especially Varian and Tenebras, but they regain their footing quickly enough.

"That's the one she wants!" The woman at the head snarls. "Get him alive!"

Varian sighs as they begin to charge him, and looks at Hans. "Go. Be quick"

Hans is about to refuse, to say he's staying with his captain, but Bìhn is yanking him roughly to his feet and away. He knows he can't carry three children _and_ fight at the same time, but it still hurts, to leave Varian behind after the first clash of steel against steel.

"There, up north!" Says the little girl. "We'll send someone back for him!" Hans knows she's not Hildegard, his sister never did have a dagger in hand and a blood stained braid, but he decides again that he's going to die for her if it's needed.

\----

She never wanted it to go like this. Naive of her, really. Of course when you attack a viking settlement even the fucking sheep are going to fight you tooth and nail.

The warriors are strong here, but she can tell they've grown used to having their beasts by their side. They leave themselves too open to attacks, expecting defense from creatures too big to reach their side in the tight mass of struggling bodies.

Tannverk doesn't deliver killing blows. She's got no qualms against the Hooligans, no desire to decimate. She ordered the child to be taken down because he would go and alert the village, but other than that she aims to incapacitate. Even then, she meant to stall rather than kill, and she'd stricken Stench for missing the shot and hitting his neck.

Enough blood has been spilled because of that criminal, and here she is spilling more.

Her men are screaming, and she sees why a second after. 

A blast of blue plasma crashes against the ground, setting fire to all it splashes on. It's followed by the black mass of a dragon that lands amongst the flames like it's nothing, and she sees him.

Chief Hiccup is clad in black scales and a spiky black helm, and he too makes his way across the fire as if it was a mere wisp of fog, before crossing swords with her warriors as the dragon at his back knocks them over like children with tail and wings and paws.

Against all logic, a spot of hope is born in her chest. The fight can stop now. 

If she captures the Chief, Berk will hand over the prisoner in an instant. She only has to outmaneuver him, while the warriors keep his dragon at bay.

"CHIEF" she yells to make herself be heard over the din of battle. The man's covered face turns to him, and she sees his shoulders square in determination. "Let this be solved between us!"

The Chief lifts his helm to expose his face, and his stoic face is nothing like the jovial, slightly nervous men she received at her halls weeks ago.

"As it should've been from the start! You have killed innocents, Chief" he says. His green eyes are burning like emeralds under the sun, and Tannverk feels the thrill of battle in her blood. 

If she dies fighting this man, Aivastaa is waiting for her.

\----

"Are you seeing that?" Tuff asks. He's got Belch's neck all stretched up to be able to see over the roofs, and he sounds strangely amused. 

Ruff rolls her eyes "yes, I see it with my six foot long neck, you imbecile" she pats Barf's cheek softly "up boy"

Of course, Tuff throws a punch at her when she and Barf come up to their level. She takes it to the shoulder without flinching.

"By Spittle's hut" he says. Ruff looks on the aforementioned direction, and her eyebrows arch in surprise.

The pirates are out. Which isn't that much of a surprise, Varian makes decent escape attempts even with a round the clock guard, all he needed was a little distraction to break them all out. What's surprising is the fact that Annie's missing. 

Also, that the big man, Hans? Has Stankbreath and Flatnose in his arms, and the long-haired one has Snotty on his shoulders. Varian is standing between them and the arriving Hysterics with a black sword in hand.

Snotty points forward, and the two men take off running towards the Great Hall while leaving their captain behind.

"Should we-" Tuff starts, but Ruff waves his words away, resting her chin on a hand

"Nah, wait" she says "let's see him dance a little, how is he so pretty?" The man moves like Toothless, all fluid movements that make him look boneless as he slashes at calves and arms, and dodged blows rather than parrying them.

"You're being creepy" Tuffnut huffs "What happened to Fishlegs?"

"He hasn't given me any bethrotal gift, and you can't blame a girl for looking" Ruff shrugs. Varian is giving the four Hysterics a good run for their salt, but the fact remains they're four and he's one, and as much as Ruff likes breaking things, she doesn't quite enjoy it when others do it. "Eh, let's get in now. Hiccup will be angry if we let them take him"

"He will, won't he? He needs to get his shit together, I'll give him a talk" Tuff nods, before kicking softly behind Belch's jaw to spur him into moving.

The scene freezes, when Barf hooks his fangs into the armor of a man trying to twist Varian's arm behind his back, and lifts him clear off the ground. Ruff dismounts and goes to tie him, while Belch and Tuff take on to fight another two. 

"Where did your men take Snotty and the boys?" She asks Varian as he recovers his stance just in time to block a blow from a woman thrice his size.

"Your names are ridiculous" Varian huffs. He kicks the woman on the chest, but it does little to move her, and when he slashes at her she blocks the deadly sword edge with her thick shield.

"You're ridiculous and the goblins are gonna take you" Ruff signals, and Barf drops the bound man on the ground. This leaves the dragon free to join her twin and his other head in their fight, and she crosses her spear against the woman's to deflect a hit Varian was too late to block. "Where?"

The woman's face is red and frowning "how dare you defend this-"

"I'm trying to talk to the pretty man, sister. I'll deal with you in a second"

Varian rolls his eyes "They took them to your Halls, happy? Now let me keep fi-"

"Let you keep getting your ass handed to you?" Ruff barks out a laugh "let's show the lady a good time then!"

They get lost in the rhythm of battle for a while. The man Ruff bound gets freed at some point and well, Hiccup said no killing except when necessary, and this man will apparently not stay down any other way. Sometimes she trades places with Tuff, or rides on Barf or even Belch when she needs a higher point to spear at things. 

It comes as a pleasant surprise, when Varian chooses to slice a man's hand as he was going for a jab at the back of Tuffnut's neck. She had expected the pirate to stab their backs, not watch them. She has the good sense of mind to be relieved. Her twin is an idiot, but she appreciates him alive.

It's really a mute sort of thanks why, when the man is screaming his lungs off and Tuff and Ruff are fighting the giant woman, she makes no move to call Barf and Belch after him when she sees Varian sneak away between two huts. 

\----

"Right there look! Astrid's at the door!" The girl screeches in his ear, pulling on his hair like reigns. Bìhn groans, but resists the urge to shake her off. "Keep running!" She digs her heels on his chest, when he doesn't comply.

"Listen kid, I don't fancy losing my head" Bìhn tries to pry the girl off his shoulders. The Halls, as they call them, look mighty defendable, carved in the rock itself and sporting only a pair of thick wooden doors barely open to admit the few Vikings left that are still to run in.

"Don't be stupid!" The girl kicks at him. He looks at Hans, hoping his eyes can adequately portray how much he wants to murder this child himself right now, but the traitor only looks back with amusement in his face. "We have to go in!"

"No, _you_ have to go in! Get down!" He tries to rip her off now. 

"No! We have to send someone back for your friend, we have to go in!" She insists, _still_ pulling at him, and Bìhn freezes. 

Well, that's... That's new. 

He looks at Hans again, for help this time. He looks as shocked as he feels, and gives him a shrug in response.

"I... Guess you're right then?" Bìhn says after a moment of contemplation. None of the Vikings are going to go help Varian that's for sure, but the brat is clearly not going to dismount until he walks her into the damned fortress himself, apparently "let's go"

He takes the front. He's got only one child on him, so it'll be easier for him to defend when the woman attempts to decapitate him than it will be for Hans.

The attack seems to be burning down, or perhaps it's the unnerving amount of bodies at her feet, but the woman has a moment of peace while they walk up to her, be it good or bad for them.

"Astrid! We're coming!" The girl screams again, and the unnecessarily high pitch makes his ears ring. The woman turns at the sound, and Bìhn has a second to appreciate the changes in her factions. 

First she pales, when she sees him and Hans holding the kids. Her grip on her axe that had gone lax when the enemies stopped coming, tightens again immediately. Then the girl's words seem to process, as does the fact that Bìhn and Hans have brought the kids to the shelter instead of taking off with them, and her brow furrows.

"I don't recall letting you out" she says. Her voice is cold and her grip on the weapon stays firm.

"Door was open. Melted, really. Not much door left now that I think about it" Bìhn gives her a grin "we were on our way out when we saw these having trouble. If we can just hand them over, we're gonna go pick up our Captain and go"

"Oh you're gonna drop the kids alright" she raises the axe just an inch. Not a threat, but a warning "You're going to do it now, and you're going to do it slowly. After that we can talk about that omen of misfortune you've pledged allegiance to"

Bìhn sees the two boys run into the halls, guesses Hans must've placed them on the ground or let them jump off. He reaches up for the girl on his shoulders, and she's much more manageable now that she seems to have decided adults got this handled, even when they're chatting in the middle of a battlefield.

"Thanks for the help, I guess" she shrugs "I'm gonna go look for my little brother" and she runs inside without another word, and leaves the three of them in a very uncomfortable silence.

"So... We're going back, if you don't mind" Bìhn says in the end. He takes a careful step back, not taking his eyes off Astrid.

"I _do_ mind actually, and-" there's a shout behind them, and Hans is cutting her words by tackling them both to the ground. "What are you doing?!" She screams. Bìhn can feel let moving under their bodies, trying to get a grip sturdy enough to kick them off.

Bìhn looks up to find a ridiculously big morningstar embedded in the wood of the door, right where they were standing a second ago. Astrid goes limp below him, and he knows she saw it too.

The sounds of warriors are multiplying, and she finds strength in urgency, if the way she manages to kick both of them off means something.

When they climb to their feet again, they find that a new regiment of Vikings is making its way towards the Halls, twenty or so from what Bìhn can quickly count, and all looking considerably fresher than the gatekeeper.

Astrid's blade rises, and she looks sideways at them.

"My entire life is in there" she says. There's intensity in her eyes, and in the way her voice sounds fierce but almost fragile "you two... you're going to help me guard them, and I'm going to talk to Hiccup about this after everything is over"

Bìhn knows she's not commanding them, not really. She has no way to ensure their compliance, when all they have to do is run off and leave her to die. 

He also knows there's no way in hell Hans is leaving this place to be burned down with the stupid kids inside and well, he's been saying from the start that they were going to get stuck in this ridiculous little town for way more time than necessary. Maybe he's a Seer.

"If Annie leaves us behind I'm going to be extra cross with you" he says. Defeat doesn't taste as bitter on his tongue, and it's been so long since he's fought a honorable battle that Bìhn's honestly forgotten what it felt like, to protect something selflessly.

"If I've learned something about you three is that you're very bad at the 'disloyal' part of piracy" Astrid says. Her lips are curled in a tired, knowing smile and Bìhn takes his place next to Hans, glaive pointed at the newcomers.

He definitely didn't think he'd end up breaking out of prison to help his captors, but then again that's exactly how he ended in Varian's service, so maybe that's just how he works.

\----

Tannverk fights like a bear.

It brings Hiccup terribly unwanted and painful memories of sparring with his father, and the crippling fear that comes with remembering him.

His home is burning.

Hiccup is Chief, and Berk is under siege because he refused to surrender a man.

Toothless is holding his own against Tannverk's warriors and Hiccup is relieved by that. Worried as he is, his focus has to be on the fight if he doesn't want to meet the bad end of the chief's spear.

A decade or so of dragon training has brought his body to its peak potential, his frame strong with whatever muscles he inherited from Stoick even when he's tall and long limbed like Valka. He can hold his own in a fight with the likes of Eret and Dagur and Snout, and he knows he's a match for this woman.

None of them have ever fought him like this woman, however. He can see furious desperation in Tannverk's eyes, can almost feel the hatred radiating off of her. She's enraged, and a voice in his mind that sounds suspiciously like his father mumbles that she has no right to be.

It was her who came here looking for war. It was her who ordered the death of innocents, the sacking of a town. 

He lights Inferno up, his blows falling heavier and heavier against Tannverk's shield.

She's the one that violated Hiccup's home for revenge, and if she's enraged, he's seething.

The rhythm of battle is intoxicating and for all that he will never be a Berserker, Hiccup finds himself getting lost in it.

It's only when he hears Toothless give an indignant roar that he looks away, his heart beating like a drum in his throat.

The dragon stands, only a small wound to one of his legs. He seems to be without enemies for now, and Hiccup sees why when he dodges one of Tannverk's blows and gets a wider view of the field.

Varian is out.

He's got a pitch black sword in hand, and he's parrying blows from two opponents at once with nearly hypnotizing grace. 

The warriors that were busy fighting Toothless have instead concentrated around Varian, and Hiccup remembers he was the target all along.

He's got blood on his face, so much that the freckles dusting his cheekbones are nowhere to be seen. His face is contorted in a roaring scream as he delivers blow after blow with the sword, and his hair is drenched in sweat, clinging tightly to his forehead and the back of his neck.

The men and women are trying to catch him rather than kill him, but Varian hops over speartips and grabbing hands alike, using their momentum to send them toppling to the ground and inching closer to the edge of the forest with ever movement.

Hiccup is then distracted of his observation, when Tannverk stabs her spear on his side.

It feels like time freezes for a second, as his eyes return to Tannverk's and find them maddened with rage. The wound in his side feels like heavy pressure slowly bleeding into pain, and she uses her grip on him to topple him to the ground.

Toothless' anguished roar is what brings him back to reality, as the dragon bounces over to them. Tannverk throws herself back to avoid the gaping jaws, and rips the spear out in the process. Not good, not-

"HYSTERICS, TO ME!" Tannverk yells. Varian is forgotten as her warriors notice their Chief being attacked by an enraged dragon, and they come to her aid. That's bad, Toothless is fierce and smart, but even he's not invincible and Hiccup is beginning to feel light-headed, is he losing too much blood?

"Brother!" What- What is Dagur even doing here, how did he know of the attack? Hiccup goes to ask just that as Dagur and Shattermaster slam into the fray.

Only when he attempts to get up there are two surprisingly strong hands pushing down on his shoulders.

"Stay down you dimwit!" Varian, that's, that's Varian right there, Hiccup thinks before passing out.

\----

The Halls are boiling like an anthill, when Valka goes in.

The Rumblehorns, although they they lost one, worked magnificently to drive the invaders to where Astrid was waiting for them. Now they lay dead or captured, and-

"Valka?" Astrid calls to her. She's sitting at one of the long tables, allowing Gothi to look over a nasty gash on her arm.

Sitting next to her are two of the pirates, and Valka freezes on her spot, a hand going to her staff. 

"What are they doing here?" She asks. Her voice is controlled, but her eyes are drifting around the halls, looking for the biggest threat. "Where's their Captain?"

"That's a good question" says the man with the moustache. He's bandaging a wound on his mate's head "we'd like to know as well"

The bigger man shrugs "He's not leaving without us. He'll find us"

"He will, it doesn't matter" Astrid tests the give of the bandages around her arm by flexing, before hopping off the table. "We can't find Hiccup"

And that's all it takes for any and all thoughts of the Captain to leave her mind. 

Her son is a warrior, with a mind as deadly as any blade and skill and reflexes enough to outlast any fight, and with Toothless by his side there's little that could down him.

Why then is he not his with his people, after the invasion has receded?

"Let's go look for him, let those two with guards" she orders immediately. She's not the Chief's wife anymore, and her claim to leadership got shaky with the sixteen years she spent away, but right now she's a mother and they're going to find her son. If she has to boss Berk's best warrior around, then so be it.

"Snout, Eret" Astrid calls out. The two men step out from the crowd, weapons at the ready. Eret looks roughed up, and Snoutlout has a bandage over his eye, but both look healthy enough to hold these two down. "Please give up your weapons" she asks the pirates, and Valka grits her teeth together. 

Why is she requesting these rats like they are one of them, instead of taking-

They hand over a glaive, a sword and a hatchet, and Valka stares, dumbfounded, as the bigger one lifts a horn of water in a toast to Astrid.

"Good luck. If you see our Captain let him know we're going to miss the deadline, please" he says

Valka wants to ask, she really does, but then Astrid is heading for the exit and that's what she really wants, so she rushes after her. 

"Toothless has to be with him" Astrid says. Valka had thought as much, and she begins to climb to Cloudjumper's neck "can I ride with you?"

Valka frowns, but signals Cloudjumper to let Astrid up. "Stormfly wasn't...?"

"She's ok, I believe" Astrid's face flushes a little, and Valka lifts an eyebrow "it's selfish, but... I sent her to the Defenders. I didn't want her to be in the battle, and I thought maybe Mala would know something was wrong and send someone"

"It's a bit selfish, yes" Valka claps the younger woman on the shoulder "but I can't hold it against you" 

She turns to straddle Cloudjumper's neck properly, and speaks into his ear.

"To the alpha, let's go"

The dragon takes off immediately, riding on a hot air current to soar above the village. Valka sees his muzzle tremble, and knows he's tasting the air for Toothless's scent.

"Hold on" she warns Astrid, before Cloudjumper takes a harsh left and dives towards the edge of the forest. His body feels tense, and Valka follows his cue, her stomach growing heavier and heavier at the unknown of what they're going to find.

The battle hasn't died, it seems, or the news haven't reached this troop.

Valka sees a flash of red hair, hears Dagur's enraged roars as he delivers a blow to knock out a woman sporting a Chief's cloak.

Shattermaster is lying on a pile of injured and struggling soldiers, and Toothless is limping with a lifted foreleg towards-

"No!" Astrid lets go of her waist with a shout, and it takes Valka a second to see what has her so worked up.

Her heart stops.

It doesn't beat again when she jumps off Cloudjumper's back as soon as one of his legs touches ground, or when she stumbles and rolls to break her fall before sprinting after Astrid.

She wonders if a heart can heal thrice, after first she lost her family, then the love of her life and now her only son lays on the ground, a pirate at his side with his hands covered in blood. 

She knows not if she will heal, or if Hiccup's in time to do so either, but she knows one thing, and it's that she's going to make this man pay.

\----

"Wake up!" Varian pinches the man's face with a hand. The other one is busy holding his bunched up vest against the gaping wound on the man's side, and Varian is _pissed_ "You're such an imbecile, I have to go! I have no time to keep you alive and you don't even have the decency to stay awake while I save you?!" 

This time he pinches Hiccup's sternum, and the pain is enough to wake him for the time being 

"Why are- why?" The idiot mumbles. Varian would knock a few braincells awake in that empty head of his, but now both his hands are applying pressure to the wound and all be can do is glare at him.

"I'm not just going to let you bleed out on the ground like a sheep" he spits out "How did you even get stabbed?! I thought you were supposed to be a good fighter to be in charge of a village!"

He's managed to slow it some, but the blood is not stopping. He has a salve he uses on more serious injuries, a thick paste that dries into a leather-like substance and closes the wound, but that was of course before he sank his ship because he got ambushed by dragon riding bufoons.

The newly arrived man and his dragon are fighting alongside the big black one. The man is a berserker if Varian's ever seen one, paying no mind to the injuries he receives when his guard is lowered in favor of an attack.

He should go, he thinks as the blood begins to stain his hands. Annie's but a couple miles away with a new ship for them to go, he's free. But it's such a sad way to die, on the ground while trying to defend a prisoner that's well on his way to escaping and-

"M a good fighter" Hiccup mumbles and well, at least there's no bloody spittle in his mouth. "I was watching you"

"You're delirious!" Varian snarls at him, ignoring the heat in his face. Of course he's fucking captivating, he _counts_ on it, but this imbecile is choosing the worst of times to admit he finds him enticing, and it's also doing _wonderful_ things to his guilt to know he was not only the indirect but also the direct cause of the gaping wound on the man's side. "Stay awake"

"Why so worried?" The idiot has the gall to look amused when all Varian is focused on is not letting him die like an animal, because it's not fitting to the man that somehow destroyed his crew and kept him captive for three months. "Easier for you to escape if I'm dead"

"Hiccup, I'm about to literally tear your kidney out and make you eat it if it'll keep you quiet, stop" he presses a bit harder, earning a pained grunt from the fallen man. His hands are wet and warm, but the flow of blood is _finally_ coming to an end. Varian doesn't know if it's because of the pressure or because Hiccup is running out of blood to spill, but the sounds of battle have stopped so help must be on the way.

All he has to do is sneak away in the confusion and-

A shaky voice reaches him then, at the same time a hard, sharply dented jaw comes to rest against his throat.

"Take your hands off my son"


	7. Chapter 7

**7.1 More deadly than the male**

"I said _let go_ of him" Valka repeats. There's no emotion to her voice other than a deep and barely contained fury, and Astrid wonders if she's thinking at all besides the primal, feral urge to get this threat away from her offspring "It's only a jaw but the teeth can still shred, get away-"

"Do you want to fucking kill him faster? Because that's how you do it" Varian snaps back. Astrid winces. This is two predators snarling over a fallen prey and they need to be broken out of it. "I'm holding his guts in but I'm more than happy to let go of you wanna see what exact color you painted his entrails when you made him" Varian's eyes are burning, but for all the venom he's spitting at Valka he hasn't stopped his pressure on Hiccup's wound, and the flow of blood seems to have staunched.

"Why in Hel should I believe a word you say, if you've done nothing but spread lies and trouble since you first stepped foot in here?! You're nothing but a snake!"

"Such a mother you are, preaching to me when your son bleeds out at your feet! No wonder I didn't even knew of your existence, if he cares about you as much as you care about him!" 

Astrid takes action then, just as Valka's thin face pales in rage and she swings the club to probably smash Varian's windpipe.

"Wait!" She screams. At the same time she takes a step between Varian and Valka, sees Dagur Frozen in his place with a look of confusion so painfully obvious she's glad she's here, else these two break out into an actual fight and Hiccup bleeds to death as they exchange blows. "Valka stop!"

It's a testament to how much respect Valka really had for her, that the woman halts her attack before it hits any of them.

"Step aside!" Valka snarls, and she's never looked more like a dragon, even without the helm.

"He's right Valka!" Astrid tries again "We can't move Hiccup, not now! I don't know what happened but we have to act fast, we-" she turns to Varian "Get to work! Do some of your magic!" she orders

Varian stares up at her for a moment, as if measuring the weight of her words, and truly Astrid could not care less right now. If she had to set this bastard free herself, she's gonna.

"SAVE HIM!" she screams in the end. Her voice cracks but she doesn't care, she can't lose him she can't-

"The skulls on your skirt" Varian speaks. His voice is earshattering in the silence left after her begging. "Are they silver?"

Astrid can feel her world, her faith crumbling as the words process in her mind

"I- what?! Yes they are!" She snarls and rips the raven skull belt from her hips to throw it at the pirate. He lifts a hand to catch it, the other still pressed to Hiccup's side "keep it for all I care, you rat! Just save him!"

Varian, the nerve of him, rolls his eyes at her and looks past her towards Dagur.

"You, come here" he orders

Dagur takes a few steps towards him, hand clenched around the grip of his axe, every step calculated to jump back in case Varian moves too fast.

"I don't know you, but I presume you're the one that's been getting my brother into every problem under the sun?" Dagur asks

"This is the perfect fucking time to meet the family, charming! Varian at your service now get down here" Varian snaps. It would be amusing, the way he's so frustrated, if his hands weren't red with blood "There's a leather band around my thigh with a flat crystal vial, you can get it if you reach into my pocket"

"What?" Dagur's face goes red and contorts in confusion and frankly? It's fun to see someone else vexed by Varian for a change, Astrid thinks "Why would I- in your pocket?"

"Are you deaf or just dimwitted?" Varian shifts his stance to rest his left knee on the ground towards Dagur and his weight on his right one. "Move, we don't have much time"

And Dagur does then, because discomfort is secondary when Hiccup's life is on the line like this. He nods at Astrid first and she nods back, stepping forward herself to stand guard over him as Dagur reaches a careful hand into the pocket of Varian's trousers.

"Go deeper" Varian instructs "into the hole" and Astrid thinks it's a small mercy that Hiccup is unconscious at least.

She's seen how the pirate looks at him, and though she doesn't like it one bit, she cannot fault him. She was never interested in taking Hiccup to her bed, despite how much she loved him -and still does in a different way- but she knows he's more than attractive, especially now that his frame has filled out with muscle and he's reached proper Viking height.

She's also seen how Hiccup looks at the pirate, and she likes it even less. It's the look he gets in his face whenever a dragon too fierce to train comes along, or when there's a problem he can't find the solution to. 

She hopes she's mistaken, hopes she doesn't know Hiccup as much as she thinks, but she fears the worst. 

"Are you wearing smallclothes?" Dagur sounds scandalized, and the ridiculousness of his words brings her back to the present

"Nothing down there you ain't seen before. The vial's right by your hand" Varian nudges his leg a little, and after a second Dagur's hand comes out holding a circular, flat crystal bottle full of translucent liquid. "Ok. I'm going to let go of his side, come here and keep the pressure... Now"

They move in unison, Dagur drops the bottle on the grass softly enough that it won't break, before his hands take the spot Varians' have just left.

Varian for his part, grabs the vial and tears Dagur's helmet off his head as he climbs to his feet.

"Hey, what are you-" Dagur begins, but Varian cuts him with a hand

"Which of your beasts can sustain a regular flame?" He asks Astrid. He seems to have settled on ignoring Valka for the time being. 

"That would be Cloudjumper" Astrid looks back to call the dragon, as Varian fiddles with her belt. Toothless' plasma shot is too volatile, and Shattermaster's gronkle iron is not really a flame.

"Have it heat this" Varian instructs, holding Dagur's helmet upside down by one of the long wavy horns. With his other hand he drops one of the skulls from Astrid's belt inside, and tears the cork off the vial with his teeth to pour the liquid over it "I need it to boil"

Astrid looks at Valka then, her eyes pleading. The woman looks like she's chewing on a bitter root, but in the end she steps forward to cup Cloudjumper's muzzle in her hands and whisper at him.

The dragon lets out a thin stream of flame that surrounds the metallic surface, and Astrid can see a sense wisp of greenish smoke begin to drift up from the makeshift cauldron as the contents heat up.

"A little more..." Varian leans to check in on the potion, before raising a hand to stop Valka "enough"

Cloudjumper ceases his fire, and Varian kneels next to Dagur while dipping his hand into the helm. When he brings it out it's covered in a sticky white substance, and he blows on it to cool it.

"Lift his clothes" he instructs "this needs to go on the wound"

Now that he's seen the sorcerer in action, Astrid can see how every muscle in Dagur's body has tensed up. This man looks little, but his powers are big.

The blood is coming slowly when Dagur lifts his hands and Hiccup's armor and shirt, but the flesh of the wound still looks red and healthy, and Astrid knows that means they're just on the nick of time.

"It's still quite hot, but that's better honestly. It might wake him up though" is all Varian says before going to smear the white ointment over the wound.

Hiccup lurches forward as if he's been burned, and it takes Astrid all of her restrain to not tackle Varian off of him. Hiccup waking up is good, no matter how much pain he might be in.

"What in Hel-" is all she manages to understand amongst his pained groaning, and the wet sounds coming... From Valka?

The woman is crying when Astrid looks over at her, and it's easily the most horrifying thing she's seen today. Valka doesn't get scared, and Valka doesn't cry.

Valka is a warrior, the one amongst them that lives and breathes and kills with the fierceness of a dragon.

Valka is definitely not the sobbing woman stumbling on shaky legs, muttering thankful prayers under her breath.

Whoever she is, Astrid envelops her in her arms, and she cries against her chest.

So this is what a mother feels like.

**7.2 Half of the heart is sailing away**

To Brazil or Havana probably. The other half?

Sitting in an empty ship with a raccoon waiting for her crewmates and Captain that are _two_ hours late.

Now Annie's not stupid. 

She's known from the beginning that this escape was never going to go according to plan, what with Hans suddenly becoming the patron saint of Viking children and both Bìhn and Varian treating it like an everyday occurrence.

She knows her mates and their skills. Hans swordsmanship is nothing to write home about -especially compared to the _Great Duke Varian of Corona_ who probably held his first sword before he learned to count, if Annie's education is any indicator - but he's unstoppable in sheer mass and strength. 

Bìhn is lethal in a hundred different ways and has the sharpest reflexes in battle. The man might have a soft spot for her and the Captain and fold like a sheet of paper before any of her tantrums, but he's the only one of them who was truly a pirate to begin with, and he has the ruthlessness to show for it.

Varian is a demon with Tenebras in hand, and if he managed to recover enough of his vials there's not much in Berk that can stand in his way, now that he knows about the dragons and can't be taken off guard.

None of them would leave any of the others behind.

"So if you expect me to believe they left _you and me_ behind, you're very mistaken Rudd" she finishes her rant to the raccoon. "But we should. We told them to be here hours ago, we went through all the trouble of stealing a brand new Chrysopoeia and managing it all the way here, and where are they? Huh?!"

Ruddiger sits on his hindlegs to look at her.

"Exactly. It's disrespectful, is all I'm saying. You and I know there's nothing in that village that could be too much for them. Maybe Astrid, but she must have been busy with the Invaders" Annie shrugs "so I'm going to bet my part of our next loot that your owner is back there giving the Chief a few goodbye smooches while the two idiots watch the doors for him"

She huffs, crosses her arms over her chest. Berk is not terribly hot, or at least not this time of the year so waiting on the ship hasn't been too horrible. Still, she's been here too long.

"Yeah, you're right" she says in response to the raccoon's small chirp. "I don't even like açai either, there's not much of a case in going to Brazil"

She climbs to her feet and begins the stupidly arduous process of steering the ship by herself back to Berk 

After all, none of them would ever leave any of the others behind.

**7.3 Once the storm passes, one must pick up the mess**

Dagur is very on the fence regarding this Varian man.

On one hand, he's of course a sorcerer. He saw it with his own eyes, how he cooked that foul potion on dragonfire that stopped Hiccup's blood and formed a thin layer over it, allowing them to take him back to the village without draining him further. He's also seen the way the man's sharp eyes dart over everyone and everything whenever he's brought to a room, like he's evaluating how to best get rid of them.

On the other hand, the man's small, thin and unimposing, and he saved Hiccup's life. Can he really be that dangerous, with the way he paled and held to Cloudjumper's claw as they were all flown back to the village?

"I mean, Astrid was pretty scared as well the first time she took a flight" Hiccup replies from his bed, and Dagur nods. He has the bad habit of thinking aloud, but Hiccup has always treated it like a simple conversation, and this time is no different. "He's dangerous alright, you heard what all the sailors said, what Tannverk said"

Dagur frowns "Tannverk can go rot for all I care. You hadn't broken her deadline yet, and even if you had she has no right to preside over your prisoners"

"I know Dagur" Hiccup's voice is conciliatory and he's smiling softly at Dagur. He feels his blood begin to boil because of course this man has forgiven the woman that almost killed him. "But my point is, don't underestimate Varian. He's plenty dangerous, sorcery aside"

Dagur watches Hiccup carefully, looking for a secret meaning in his words. His instinct is telling him something, and he's antsy about it.

"That man wants you" he says then, because he's a Berserker and not a Subtler

"He wants a tumble is what he wants" Hiccup laughs at that, but Dagur doesn't miss the slight flush that climbs to his face.

"Brother, you're a great warrior and a wonderful prospect, but it's not hard to get a lay. Much less when you're a sailor, not to mention one as pretty as him" Dagur sits on the edge of the bed. A good side of Hiccup not having a left leg is that he doesn't have to worry about sitting on it.

"I thought men didn't strike your fancy brother" Hiccup says. Dagur feels his eyes searching his face and he rolls his eyes. This is ridiculous.

"I'm a man of perky tits and a firm hand with a blade" Dagur shrugs "and I must admit that even if your little rogue is missing one of them attributes, those legs I touched are nothing to scowl at"

"You _what_?" Hiccup chokes on absolutely nothing and climbs to a sitting position. Dagur sighs. Was he ever this obtuse about Mala? "Why were you fondling his legs?"

"We had to get one of his little bottles out. He keeps them in funny places doesn't he?" He explains "anyways, Astrid was keeping watch on him and after the things he said to your mother when she tried to get him off you, I think he saw me at the safest choice"

"The things- he was fighting with my mother?!" Dagur watches as Hiccup buries his face in his hands

"Like a wolverine. And that's another one" Dagur waits until Hiccup pulls his face off his hands to smirk at him "I'm not saying you wouldn't be a good tumble, but I'm not sure anyone is good enough a lay to stay there and save their life instead of running to freedom"

**7.4 If you smell smoke, there's a fire somewhere**

"Nice to see you didn't dump us Annie" Hans smiles as the woman makes her way into the halls. He feels rather than sees the short, stout Viking straightening up at his side, and his smile widens. 

"I'm not talking to you" Annie turns her nose up at him. He hears Bìhn chuckle behind him "I could be in Brazil right now. Where's my Captain, Snout?"

The man stammers when Annie addresses him directly, and Hans is about to take mercy on him when Astrid comes to stand beside them.

"Your Captain is being looked after" she says. "He sprained his ankle when Cloudjumper dropped him. After what your men did for my people and what he did for my Chief, the least I could do was ensure he got healing, no matter how I feel about him"

"Cute. And what did he do for your Chief?" Annie crosses her arms and looks up at the woman, some unimpressed eyebrow arched. 

"Well" Astrid looks like she's sucking on some sort of sourfruit. "He saved his life. Hiccup would've bled out if he hadn't given him aid until we arrived, and then he cooked one of his potions to stop his bleeding entirely"

"... He what?" It's Bíhn's voice that asks this time, though Annie looks decently shocked as well. "Why would he stay after you guys arrived?"

Nothing makes Hans feel as old as this crew.

"Yeah I mean, I get not leaving him there just to bleed out, that's common decency and your guys have been nice to us as far as jailers go" Annie frowns "but I was a couple miles away with the ship I stole- it's back in your dock by the way- there's no reason for him to stay, right Hans?"

"Right. So weird" Hans deadpans. Astrid catches his eye and he sees his resignation mirrored in her face "I have no idea, but it seems we're trapped here for the time being. Again"

"Trust me, you're not the only one disappointed by that" Astrid rolls her eyes "but whatever. We'll bring him to you as soon as Gothi's done with him, and then you can wait for Hiccup to decide what we do with you"

"Those guys came for us didn't they?" Annie asks "are you not expecting another attack?"

Both Astrid and Snout laugh lightly at that.

"After the number we pulled on them, when they tried to get us off guard?" The man puffs out his chest proudly. This place is more loaded in posturing and bad flirting than any pub Hans has been in. "We're pretty much safe for a couple decades or so"

"Besides, now both the Defenders of the Wing and the Berserkers are aware we were targeted unfairly. No tribe will risk the ire of three" Astrid explains. "A war council is in waiting for when Hiccup can stand again, but until then... We mourn our dead and heal our wounded, and our allies guard our nest"

The mood becomes somber when she brings up the casualties. People died defending a home they weren't even expecting to be in danger, but now they have to move on. Vikings, Hans guesses, are much like pirates in that regard. 

"I should thank you again, for helping us protect our people" Astrid says again. Her voice is soft this time, and Hans knows she's thinking of those that couldn't be saved. 

Snoutloud reaches forward to lay a hand on her shoulder, and everything has become decidedly awkward, the three of them witness to these two's pain.

"Well" Annie breaks the silence. Hans sees her smile and the way it's pulling at the edges. "You can thank us with some dinner. I don't know about these two, but I spent four hours maneuvering a ship around on an empty stomach"

It takes a second, but in the end Astrid's frown is replaced by a tired smile. 

"A woman I can admire" she says "come this way, we'll get you a plate"

**7.5 Fear not when the howling starts, but when the wolf falls silent**

"They... What?" Hiccup blinks. He's more tired than confused, and he'd quite like it if all the surprises just... Stopped coming

"I'm as surprised as you" Astrid shrugs. "The two of them helped me guard the gates. We lost a lot of warriors, and those I know have families I sent inside as well. If these two hadn't helped me I probably wouldn't have come out alive"

He smiles at this. Of course she doesn't say she couldn't have done it, Astrid would've protected their people with her last breath, and none of the Hysterics would've gone past her. Still, these two men are the reason she's standing before him with nothing more than a few wounds. 

"So... We owe them, don't we?" He asks.

"Big time. Snotty and the others were almost captured twice. Apparently Varian stalled one attack and these men brought them over safely." Astrid huffs, and Hiccup knows she's as pleased by this whole situation as he is. 

"Isn't it clear?" And there comes his mother. 

She's left his side for only a couple hours total since he was injured, and though Hiccup appreciates it, all it takes to get her fuming is to bring up the pirates.

"I mean it definitely could be clearer" Hiccup shrugs "I appreciate what they did and all bu-"

"I don't" she cuts in the middle of his sentence. "Don't you see it son? That man is cunning. Why would they protect our town when they've been imprisoned here for months, if not to make us trust them?"

"They saved kids, mom. I agree I wouldn't trust Varian-"

"That's the first reasonable thing I've heard you say in regards to that snake, he-" Valka's face is growing a dangerous shade of red, when another voice cuts into hers.

"He saved Hiccup's life" says Astrid. Her voice is firm and cold, and Hiccup's glance slides to her hip. Her usual belt lies against her skirt, with one skull clearly missing. "And I owe him for that"

"He only did it because-"

"I don't I care for his reasons, do you?" Astrid interrupts her again. She's usually so respectful of his mother, Hiccup is beginning to feel the tension rising in the air "He didn't run away, and your son is alive because of it. I can't forget that and I expect you don't either"

Hiccup winces. That's a low strike on Astrid's part, and it's terribly uncomfortable to be bedridden when these two women seem about to come to blows. 

His mother's face has gone pale after those words. Hiccup has no idea if it's rage or shock, but he raises a hand towards her when she turns to leave.

"Mom..."

"I see my advice isn't needed" is all she says before she slams the door shut behind her

The silence after she leaves is thick. Hiccup rubs a hand over his face.

"You were too harsh with her" he says. "You don't even like Varian, and she's probably right"

"I don't and she probably is, but you're the chief. She must remember she doesn't outrank you just by virtue of being your mother" Astrid says, then runs a hand over her hair. "What are we doing with them?" 

"I have no idea honestly... They fought for the village, without prompting on our behalf" Hiccup sighs "that in on itself is not enough to set them free, but it should give them some leniency"

"Much as I hate the weasel, I'd allow Varian to go just for not bolting and helping stabilize you" Astrid lays her balled fist on Hiccup's forehead and pushes back. He falls chuckling onto the pillows, and she smiles "but I know you're too stubborn for that"

"That's why you're my right hand, honestly" Hiccup contemplates the ceiling. Astrid lays down by his side, warming him. It used to hurt when they'd just separated. Now the love he feels for her is equally fierce, but very different. "Let.... Let them out of the jailhouse. They can live in old Blacktooth's hut, it's been empty for two years. I'll tell Toothless to sic some dragons on them as a guard"

"Sounds unorthodox. Very you" he can hear the smile in her voice "I'll arrange for them to be moved. Hiccup?" She turns to look at him in the eye

"What is it?" He asks. Her eyes hold a certain intensity to them, and he feels himself stiffen in preparation.

"Is this really about handing him back to be judged?" She asks then

Hiccup frowns, confused. "What else would it be about? I mean yeah, he did a number on Fishlegs, but I'm not the revengeful type"

Astrid stares at him for a moment too long, until he begins to fidget. She then rolls her eyes and climbs to her feet.

"Rest a little more Hiccup. I'll see to them"

**7.6 All in a day's work**

"Pirate" a voice calls. It's high pitched enough that Bìhn can tell it belongs to a child, but forced low enough that he figures he's supposed to pretend it doesn't. 

"Got a name y'know?" He asks, lifting his glance from where he's contemplating the edge of his blade. These Hysterics, as he's come to learn they're named, had thick armors. Standing before him is the girl he brought here on the night of the attack -Snotty, his brain supplies- and an older boy. "I presume you do too?"

The boy crosses his arms. He's got the same bright red hair and thick brows as Snotty and doesn't look a day over twelve. 

"I'm Bile. You saved my sister and her friends" he says. "She's very annoying, but she's my sister. Thank you"

The girl shoots her brother a look of pure adoration, and Bìhn is surprised when she sends an identical one his way. He drops the sword by his side.

"I'm Bìhn. I take it you were defending your village during the attack?" He asks. No matter where they come from kids love feeling like warriors... Or at least he did when he was that age.

"I was looking for our little brother Slobber" Bile says. The muscles in his neck tense when he looks down. "I didn't find him in time. Maybe you would have" he says. 

Snotty frowns and takes hold of his hand to give it quite a mighty looking pinch, before she looks back at Bìhn in a mute remark, like he's clearly not doing what she wanted him to.

Bìhn sighs. He's not Hans, he has no unconditional love nor patience for children, And they never really like him enough for him to have to worry about it. 

Yet here's Snotty and Bile, and their little brother is gone, and he can see the other two hiding under a table, all looking at him with wide eyes.

With a flick of his wrist he twists his sword in the air to hold it with the handle towards Bile.

"Wanna spar with me, kid? Maybe you can teach me a trick or two" he offers. Snotty lights up like a candle, and Bile even smiles a little. "If those imbeciles ever come back, I want it to be you defending the Halls"

The kid reaches to grab the sword hilt, and his eyes meet Bìhn, looking much younger than he forces his voice to sound.

"You're gonna help me like you helped Astrid?" 

"I'm not sure. Maybe I'm going to have to be watching Snot again" he winks at the girl, who roars at him in mock indignation and goes to climb on his lap and pull on his moustache. "Let's go, you monsters. Show me where you train"

He leads the way out of the Halls, Snotty hanging from his neck, Bile by his side and the other two trailing behind him.

He makes a very rude hand gesture in response to Hans' stupid smile when they walk past him on their way to the doors.

**7.7 You must know which hill to die on**

Mala pinches the bridge of her nose. The council hasn't even begun and she's already tired of it.

The great Halls of Berk have been emptied, and four big tables arranged into a square with Hiccup's throne at the head. Three of them hold the Chieftains of the major tribes in the archipelago. The other, a dozen or so of Hooligans that lost family or property in the attack. In a chair by the corner, the man Dagur talked about, with a single manacle around an ankle.

In the space enclosed by the tables sits Tannverk, in chains.

Chief Korma rises from her chair to start the meeting. She was chosen to preside because the Uglithugs have basically no alliances with any clan, so they're as impartial as Vikings are ever going to get. 

"We begin now the Council of Chieftains" she says, her voice booming over the crowd's whispers and bringing down silence on the room. "The Hooligan tribe accuses the Hysterics. Speaking for them is Chieftain Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, Master of Dragons, son of Stoic the Vast" 

She sits down with a thud just as Hiccup rises, and Mala, along with the other Chiefs, looks over at him.

He looks paler than usual, and there are dark bags under his eyes. His dragon, with a foreleg wrapped in a mess of cloth and leather, looms like a shadow behind him.

"I accuse Chieftain Tannverk of the Hysterics of a cowardly attack on my people" he says, loud and clear. Whatever weakness caused by the terrible injury Dagur spoke about seems not to have eroded his will. Mala sees Tannverk's broad shoulders stiffening, and prepares for the yelling to begin. "She and her warriors came in before dawn broke, without a warning or declaration, and attacked my people brutally, without them even knowing what they'd done to merit the attack. Any and all men and women she lost were felled by my people trying to defend themselves and their home when it was violated"

"Chieftain Tannverk the Grand of the Hysterics. How do you answer to this accusation?" Korma asks.

"They are complete and utter rubbish, my Chiefs!" Tannverk exclaims. "It is none of my concern if Chieftain Hiccup chose not to tell his people of the danger he kept in the village, and I made it clear to him that I would come to retrieve his prison-"

" _My_ prisoner, indeed" Hiccup cuts over her voice. Out the corner of her eye Mala sees the pirate straighten up on his chair. He's looking at Hiccup with a frankly disturbing amount of interest. "It was me and my Riders who captured Varian and his crew, and it's my choice what to do with them. Even if your stupid deadline had gone by, whatever weak claim you had over him disappeared when you decided to kill _children_ in order to get him"

Mala gasps, and she hears many others do the same. Children are not something to harm lightly. She sadly knows all too well they're not a gift the Gods grant freely, and disease and beasts are always a danger in these lands where only the strong and the smart survive.

"It was never my intention to harm children! The boy was killed by accident" Tannverk explains, her face paling "my second in command was responsible, and I will see to it that he's punished!"

"His name is not 'the boy', Tannverk" Hiccup's voice is colder than Mala ever expected to hear from the warm-eyed man "He was Slobber Goffson, and he was six years old. His older brother could not protect him because he was pulling their grandma out of their burning hut, and his older sister wasn't there either, because she was being caught by your men, and rescued by the very prisoners you came to kill." If possible, Hiccup seems to grow while speaking. Mala has always known he's a capable -if unorthodox- Chief, but this speaks of a man that loves not a land but its people. "His name was Slobber, and you shot him in the back while he ran away from you"

Tannverk's head hangs low, her long black braids nearly reaching the floor. 

"What say you, Tannverk the Grand?" Korma raises her voice again. It does not escape Mala that she doesn't seem affected by the death of the child, and once more she wonders why they allow this slaver tribe exist in their waters.

"I... Accept the accusation" says Tannverk after a long silence. "Slobber's blood is in my men's hands, and in mine in consequence, as is the blood of those who died during the attack. I will accept the penance my peers agree on"

"Very well. Is there any other accusation you want to give, Chief Hiccup?" Korma asks. It's a miracle really, that this has gone so smoothly. 

Hiccup looks like he's about to shake his head, when Astrid punches him not so subtly in the shoulder, and he sighs. Mala covers her chuckle with a cough.

"I accuse Chieftain Tannverk of the Hysterics" he begins, voice and protocol flat in a way that lets Mala and everyone else in the room know he thinks this is not worth the hassle "of being better than me in a fight?"

"Hiccup" Astrid hisses at him, and Hiccup rolls his eyes

"Of unfairly and dishonorably attempting to kill me, and with that almost initiating a blood feud between our clans and breaking the peace treaty between all our tribes" he amends. Another round of gasps, and Mala paces her gaze over the room.

Heather, her sweet sister in law, is looking at the woman with indignation. Camicazi of the Bog Burglars and Atali of the Wingmaidens have straightened up in their chairs, shoulders stiff and faces stern, and Alvin of the Outcasts has his huge meaty hand on the handle of his axe.

"That was _definitely_ not my intention!" Tannverk breaks in without needing to be prompted by Korma "You were distracted during the fight!"

"It's what I keep trying to tell them, really" Hiccup says, shrugging. He looks apologetic and Mala wants to smack him over the head. Dagur hadn't come back home in three days because he stayed at his bedside, and this man is excusing his would-be killer?! "But apparently it was very serious and I wouldn't have made it for long enough to get to the village, even with first aid"

"How could that have been an accident?!" Alvin's voice booms. Mala feels a headache coming. That's what she gets for daring to hope for a quiet Chieftains council. "You struck to kill!"

"I did not-"

"You have already admitted to taking a kid's life" Camicazi stands from her chair. Mala expected her to have a bit more restraint, but then again she's Hiccup's childhood friend, of course she's pissed. "Why should we expect you to be truthful?"

"If the Hysterics wish to start a war, the Berserkers stand with Berk" Heather states proudly. Mala winces. It's a sweet sentiment and a true one that she could mirror, but Gods that girl needs to learn some diplomacy. 

Her words of course are only the start of an avalanche. 

Alvin and Camicazi voice their approval and alignment so loud that it rings off the walls of the Halls. Atali -and Mala herself- vouch for the Hooligans as well. Mala because they're her allies, and if the Berserkers are fighting she has to stand with her family. Rather than out of respect and friendship to Hiccup, Mala suspects Atali does so because she's got her eye on Camicazi. Chieftain councils feel like a bad play sometimes.

Mogadon the Meathead pitches in for the Hysterics, Mala suspects just to be contrary. Kroggen of the Visithugs is of course never going to let a chance of messing with the Bog Burglars pass, so he stands for them as well. This prompts Camicazi to call him a child killer by association and Tarnat of the Bashem Oiks, whose son is married to him, jumps to defend his son in law.

Korma seems terribly disinterested, the families of the fallen look very uncomfortable, and there's a frankly worrying number of weapons being unsheathed and wielded. 

These damned Vikings, Mala thinks as she wraps her hand around her sword's hilt.

"ENOUGH!" Hiccup's voice cracks like a whip over the cacophony of screams. If Mala ever doubted he's Stoic's heir, that roar dispels the thought. "Stop fighting over nothing, I'm clearly alive and no one is going to war!"

One by one, the Chieftains sit back down. Some are clearly less pleased by others by the promise of peace, and Mala takes note of them. It's always useful to know who's itching for a fight.

Korma waits until Alvin takes his seat again to speak.

"If that is settled, we can move on. I suggest the imprisonment of the child killer, and ten heads of cattle for each villager lost in Berk" she says. Her voice sounds bored. Mala's dislike for her grows steadily. "Anyone else?"

"Fifteen heads of cattle and five pieces of gold for each family" Camicazi is the first to come with a counterproposal to the penance.

Gold and beasts will never replace the lives that were lost, but there must be compensation. The families know this, and for all that they don't seem thrilled at the offerings, there's a fire in their eyes that speaks of justice.

Many things are proposed; fine fabrics, ships, metals and the destitution of Tannverk as Chief are all brought to the table and voted on by them all. Tannverk is not allowed to comment on her own penance, and she doesn't dishonor herself by trying, Mala will give her that at least.

"It is decided then" Korma speaks out. "Chieftain Tannverk the Grand of the Hysterics. You're required to pay ten heads of cattle, three pieces of gold and two sacs of grain to each family that lost a member due to your attack. The man who killed the child must be exiled from your tribe or incarcerated for ten years in a village that is neither Hysteria nor Berk. Will you take it?"

Tannverk nods. "I accept it. Our purpose was a sacred one and our cause pure, but I can agree we stepped over a line"

"Eh. Chieftain Hiccup of the Hooligans, do you want any compensation for the attack on your life?" Korma asks, resting her chin on her hand.

Mala is expecting Hiccup to wave it away like he did with the fact that he was almost killed, so she lets out a surprised huff when he nods. By his side, Astrid seems similarly confused, so she's glad to know this is not just a failure in judgement on her part.

"I demand that you stop meddling in my affairs" Hiccup says. He's speaking to Tannverk only, his eyes fixed on hers. "Varian is _my_ prisoner, and as such he's under _my_ protection until I take him to be judged at the Mainland. If you try to take him again, there will be consequences" he states. Toothless punctuates his words with a menacing growl and a huff, before Hiccup sits again.

Mala takes a glance at Varian then, and finds that he seems as surprised and confused as she herself feels. Good, not his doing then. Just... Hiccup being weird again.

"Don't trust that man, Hiccup. I warn you, he will stab you in the back while you protect him" Tannverk's voice carries a weird sort of intensity.

"Maybe down the line, but so far he has defended my people as yours slaughtered them in their home. He's a killer, but at least he's honest about it. How about you?" Hiccup asks, still frowning

Tannverk looks back at him with her head held high and her teeth clenched, but says nothing. The silence stretches between them and over the chamber, before it's broken.

"Perfect. If this is over, I have business to go back to" it is Korma who breaks the tense silence that follows Hiccup's words. "A pleasure to see you all, as always"

"Fuck right off Korma" Kroggen raises his hand in a rude gesture as she leaves, and the room devolves into a shouting match once again as the Chieftains try to decide on whether or not they should stop the slave-trader.

Just a regular Chieftains council.

**7.8 Not ideal, but still an improvement**

The house, if it can be called such thing, is nothing grand. An open ground floor with furniture consisting of wooden chairs fitted with straw and wool cushions around a crudely carved table, an open chimney with a rod for hanging pots, a shelf and a red wooden chest.

Varian paces his eyes over it, unimpressed.

"What am I supposed to be doing here? He asks the big blond man standing by the door. "And you, for that matter?" 

"Officially? I'm on guard duty" Fishlegs shrugs "Really though, I'm just waiting for Astrid to take over"

Varian arches an eyebrow. "So you're not going to stop me if I try to leave?" He asks

"Not at all. Especially since I know you still carry a lot of your little bottles somehow" the man says simply. "I kind of enjoy being all made of flesh and not lead"

"It's a nasty one isn't it?" Varian grins. "Usually you'd drown long before it spreads over to stop you from eating or drinking, if it's any consolation"

"It really isn't" Fishlegs replies, looking straight ahead.

"Thought so" Varian takes a careful step towards the door. As promised, the man makes no move to stop him or get in his way, and Varian takes another step, and another until his hand is resting on the brass knob. "Well. See you then"

"Safe travels" says Fishlegs. Varian frowns, but pulls the door open.

The opening is covered in its entirety by the silvery-white scaly head of a dragon, with a horn the size of Varian's entire body on the tip of its nose.

"That's Torch." Says the man with a slight smile. The dragon snarls.

Varian closes the door 

The top floor, when he explores it, is as bare as the bottom one, with four hastily made beds pressed against each corner of the single, huge room.

"This is not the way to the jailhouse" Bìhn's voice drifts up through a window. Varian opens the dyed wool curtain to find an orange eye as big as his head. "That's a big dragon" 

Varian rolls his eyes as he lets the curtain fall again. Way to understate, Bìhn.

"Are you kidnapping us Snoutlout?" Annie's mischievous jab reaches him as he walks down the stairs again, and he reaches the bottom floor in time to see the short man opening the door, face flustered and allowing Astrid, Annie, Bìhn and Hans to enter first. "Oh, hi Captain. Nice to see you. I'm not sure if you forgot, but we were supposed to meet on the ship I stole three days ago. No problem though, I didn't have much else to do except like... Being caught again"

"I was occupied" Varian says. She's not really in a bad mood, so he winks an eye at her "and let me tell you I was the closest one to reaching you, so unless you have these two an earful as well, I don't want to hear it"

"Oh she did" Hans takes a seat on the sturdiest looking chair and seems to find it comfortable enough, if the way he leans back and hums is a reliable indicator "glad to see you're safe, Captain. How's your ankle?"

"Well enough. Were any of you hurt in the attack?" He asks. He's already reaching to sit on another of the chairs, completely ignoring the three Vikings by the door. 

"Couple scratches" Bìhn is investigating the inside of the chest, pulling out plates and horns and hairy things that might be coats "what's the plan?"

"That's also what I'm wondering" and then Varian looks at Astrid, who's come closer to their table. He nods at her "Demoness" 

"Weasel" she nods back "I trust the hut is comfortable enough?"

"Depends on whose parameters you use" Varian leans back to rest his boots on the table. He makes sure to ignore Hans' low, indignant huff "are we to assume this is our new prison? Has our laying our lives on the line for your people bought us a couple chairs and some beds?"

"What it's bought you is me not breaking your nose because you escaped again" she says, and the look in her eyes makes it clear how sorely she resents that "Hiccup has decided your help earned you privacy and trust, but not freedom"

"That's a funny way of saying "thanks for saving us, you're still prisoners". Is the ungratefulness cultural or personal?" He arches an eyebrow. He can see Astrid's lips tighten, and he smirks

"You helped us protect our village, and you saved Hiccup's life. But you're still criminals, you're wanted somewhere, and we're going to find out just where that place is" she says, and turns to look at Snout and tilt her head in a gesture. The man opens the door, showing the monstrous dragon again. "Torch is here to make sure you don't leave when you're not allowed. Some other dragons will follow you around when you are"

"Huh. I always thought stupid feral beasts wouldn't be appropriate guardians, so I'm glad you're finally handing over the task to the dragons" Varian says. Annie snorts, and even Hans' lips curl into a smile.

"Varian, my gratitude towards you is great but I wouldn't test it if I were you" is all the demoness says. He takes a look at her hip, and notices she still hasn't replaced the skull he used to make the silver nitrate. "Toothless and Hiccup made sure the dragons won't hurt you unless they have to. Make sure you don't force them, because dragons have very bad understanding of what can and can't kill a human"

"So this hut is ours for the time being?" Varian asks. He saw during the attack what the beasts can do, but he won't give her the satisfaction of looking worried.

"It is" Astrid nods "someone will bring bread and cheese later, and there's an icebox with fish buried in the corner"

"Fantastic" Varian crosses his arms behind his head, giving her a pleasant smile "then I will thank you if you would all kindly remove your brutish asses from our lovely home, if you've no further need of us"

"He doesn't have to be so mean, why is he mean all the time?" He hears Snoutlout whisper by the door, and he fixes his stare on him to make him flinch. 

The demoness smiles, and Varian doesn't like it one bit. 

"We'll take our leave then. See you soon, Varian" she says sweetly. It makes something like nerves coil tight in his stomach, and he forces himself to ignore it until the door closes behind the three of them.

"I wouldn't antagonize her boss. I saw her stab two men with a spear and decapitate a third with her axe in one move" Bìhn says, coming over to the table. He's got a worn book in hand, and he offers it to Varian. "Found it at the bottom. Thought you might want to see it"

Varian takes it, and sets it aside for the time being. "This is the plan" he says, and all playfulness and amusement immediately washes off from their faces. "We have three weeks. Four at most. After that, the Chief and his dragon will be strong enough to give chase. If I'm correct, he will want to recapture us himself if we escape, he won't let the demoness and the idiots do it alone"

"The dragon is hurt too?" asks Annie, eyes intrigued "did you do it?" 

Varian shakes his head

"The invaders. It doesn't matter. My point is, we stay here" he says. Out the corner of his eye he sees Hans arch an eyebrow and lean forward in surprise. He frowns "Not for long. A week or two. We eat. We walk. We train. We stock. We've been locked up for more than two fortnights, we need to regain our strength, or the sea will eat us up"

Bìhn nods. Of course he'd known. Out of the three of them, he's the one that's been at sea the longest. He knows how inclement a mistress it is, how a mere fever will be enough to turn you into chum.

"And then we leave?" Bìhn asks.

"Then we leave" Varian confirms. "We're using those weeks to watch the dragons as well. They have to sleep, they have to eat, or they have to have a weakness. We're going to find it" he says with certainty. His crew's small, but what remains is the best there ever was.

"I have a question" Annie asks. Varian turns to look at her, and gestures for her to continue "why did you stay to save the Chief? You could've reached me and Ruddiger. After that it would've been easy to get Hans and Bìhn and leave"

Varian opens his mouth to answer.

He closes it again.

How to explain that it didn't feel right? That this man has earned enough of Varian's respect that the thought of leaving him to die like a dog didn't even cross his mind?

That his father, the Great Duke of Corona and the Commander of the Kingdom of the Sun's armies had always told him stories of his brave warriors and their battles, of how even the most hated foe deserves a dignified death if they've been honorable. 

That a treacherous corner of his mind recalled a story of golden hair and a song, how they'd healed an injury like this before and if she had been enough then he _had_ to be as well.

"From what I heard at the council" he starts, voice strangely hoarse "that woman came to kill me, and he knew it. Yet he was fighting her. I figured it was a fair trade, a life for a life" he says, not looking at anyone in the eye

He feels rather than sees both Bìhn and Annie nod, and he's ripped of his reverie when Hans stands up brutally.

"Oh for the Sundrop..." Varian hears the man mutter, and whoa, it's been a while since he's heard that swear "I'm going to make dinner"

Is all he says before grabbing a wooden bucket and venturing outside to look for a well, without sparing a single look to the giant dragon outside.

"What's gotten into him?" Varian asks. That really came out of nowhere.

Bìhn and Annie shrug, and they all go upstairs to pick their beds.

Whatever it is that's got Hans annoyed, he's sure to forget about it after some cooking, Varian decides.


	8. Chapter 8

**8**   
_It's cold._

_Nothing they're not used to, but added to the slight feeling of helplessness it contributes to their frustration._

_They are all perfectly capable and know hot to keep the ship afloat and going, but they were never meant to be on their own, without a Captain to guide them and these waters are treacherous._

_Still, they are managing. The map is as clear as it's going to get, even though these landmarks -seamarks?- are foreign to them. They know where they're going, the wind is not against them for all that it's not in their favor, the sea's full of fish and they have water aplenty, especially considering rainy season is upon them._

_It might take them months, but they will get there. And when they do?_

_He will regret letting them live._

**8.1 Sad, but in a funny sort of way**

It's been over ten minutes since he made any obvious noise, and Annie cheers for Snout in her mind.

Stealth is definitely not his strong suit -a mere guess, but an educated one given how he managed to trip over a sheep a mere ten minutes walk from her hut- she has to admire his tenacity; the man has been following her for the better part of two hours, as she makes her daily walk around the village looking for stores of food and supplies they can loot before embarking. 

One of the guard dragons lands on the roof of a hut nearby, sniffing with interest at the wrapped package Annie has under her arm. Black, tiny and always begging for food, they remind her of her sister's fat cat, and she wishes they'd come closer so she could pet it.

As her gaze drifts down from the dragon, she sees the hut it's standing in is full of cured meats. Whole mutton legs wrapped in parchment hang from the ceiling, and a delicious smoky smell comes through the door. A broad backed woman is at the front, gutting a deer carcass while a pile of tiny, brightly colored dragons go at the discarded entrails.

"Hey. Hey lady!" She calls, until the woman lifts her gaze. "Hope you got my things" she says. Out the corner of her eye she sees Snout trying to get closer in order to hear better.

The woman's thick black eyebrows furrow as she looks Annie up and down.

"You got mine?" The woman asks in a booming voice.

Annie lifts the wicker basket and lifts the lid.

The tiny dragon darts down immediately, attracted by the sweet, buttery scent wafting from the baker's dozen of muffins resting inside.

The woman's eyes sparkle with interest, and Annie shuts the basket before she can sneak a hand inside.

"Not to doubt you, Wart dear but I'd like to have my meat first. Clean transactions and all." Annie smiles sweetly at the woman, who frowns again before turning to enter the hut.

"Aren't you supposed to be a pirate? What do you know of clean transactions?" Her voice drifts from inside, and Annie winks an eye at Snout. It has the desired effect of making him go red at being discovered.

"I know how _not_ to make them. So if you'd rather I do that, I can go ahead" Annie waits until Wartback comes out again to give her another smile.

"Stick one of those pretty paws in here and I'm gonna chop it clean off" and she hands her a heavy leather possible. It's amazing what people in this town are willing to trade for a couple baked goods. "Now hand them over"

"A pleasure doing business with you my dear" and she passes the basket to her. "Let me know if you can make my dried meat will you? That's a good lass"

And with a last part to the Viking woman's cheek, she turns on her heel and heads out.

On the way back to the house, she locates another two storages to mark on their map, one with pelts and the second with wood and coal.

"Snout?" She asks out loud as she steps up to the huge orange dragon curled around her lodgings. 

It takes a moment -perhaps he's still pretending he's hidden?- but in the end the short, stubby man steps forward from behind a cart.

"Uh. Yes?" He asks, wringing his hands together. 

"I would advice you to ask if you can escort me from now on" Annie smiles down at him. She knows the gesture is not reaching her eyes, it's the cold, practiced smile her teacher taught her to give to men that tried to put her down with their words. "Because I wouldn't mind. But if I ever catch you following me again, and I _will_ catch you, I'm going to make you wish the ship had sunk with us in it. Understood?"

She doesn't wait for an answer, instead turning to slam the door closed.

"So harsh" says a voice. She turns to see Varian on one of the wooden chairs, with his nose buried in his stupid book

"You kicked the Chief in the dick" Annie rolls her eyes, going to throw the meat pouch in the icebox. She also stows away the skinning knife she snatched while Wart was in her hut. Their weapons were once again confiscated, but the collection she's slowly amassing will be enough to get them through a couple doors.

"These Vikings just don't know manners" he says.

Annie smirks. Nothing wrong with a bit of fun "Big words, considering your Viking quite literally gave you a house Varian"

Varian's lips curl into a smile, but he doesn't raise to the bait. "If you ask me, that tells you a far greater deal about him than it does about me"

"Do you think we could steal a dragon egg?" She asks, taking a moment to delight in the way Varian's face pales as he looks at her.

"What I think is you're going to set us all on fire" he replies, but his voice sounds more resigned than firm, and she beams.

Tomorrow she will find the nesting grounds.

**8.2 Know thy enemy (it's not that deep)**

Varian looks up at the sound of footsteps, from where he's laying on one of the lumpy beds. The old Viking book open before him in a page showing a broad looking man with a younger skinny kid posing for some sort of portrait.

"I must say Captain, I didn't expect you to be that interested in the book" Bìhn says as he comes up the stairs to the communal bedroom. His movements are stiff as he slips an entire roll of leather from under his shirt to drop it on his own bed. 

It's not much, but it will be enough to make some jackets and oilskins and they have to be careful with how much they steal to avoid being noticed anyways.

"Eh. They may be brutes but they apparently know the value of keeping their history. Apparently their greatest chief has a sizeable treasure hidden somewhere." Varian shrugs "Were you sparring with the kids again?"

"Yeah. The parents sent us some cloth" Bìhn smirks "Apparently Snotty thinks we dress ridiculously"

"A terrible blow for sure" Varian nods solemnly "have you figured out where the weapons are stored?"

"My best bet is on Astrid's hut, so we're not getting them back anytime soon" Bìhn sits next to Varian on his bed. It's weird that he takes these sorts of familiarities with him, Varian thinks. Perhaps the sharing of sleeping quarters has turned their relationship more relaxed. It's not ideal for a subordinate, but as long as Bìhn remains loyal Varian doesn't mind that much. "Now what's this treasure you're talking about?"

Varian flips the pages until they're back on the chapter relating the treasure of Hamish the First -which sounds like a perfectly respectable name until Varian thinks of all the other Viking names he knows and concludes this must be Ham-ish as in ham- before he moves to rise from the bed.

"See for yourself. It's almost sundown" he gestures to the window that's not currently covered by a dragon eye. The sky's getting darker, and his preferred time for prowling is almost here.

Bìhn scowls at the book as Varian changes washes his face in the basin by the window, not flipping the page in what feels like an eternity for him, who devours books in hours or days.

In fact, by the time Varian leaves to go have something to eat before heading out, he's still studying the same page with a look of concentration. He'll have to ask him later if he found out some interesting detail.

Torch gives him a low growl when he steps out into the street.

"Grrr" he replies, giving the dragon his best deadpan stare before striding away without paying him any more mind.

_And descended from Stiffback Haddock the Brave, half-brother to Chieftain Bitterbreath Gangestad the Neckbreaker, young Stoick Toenail the Fourth, recently anointed The Vast due to his impressive girth, challenged for his place in the line of succession and became the Chief of Berk.  
Under him the Hooligan tribe became prosperous, and borne many skilled warriors to keep the dragons at bay and the village safe.   
He was married to Valka Leifsdottir of the Bog Burglars, and she bore him a son named Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third._

The book had ended there, after narrating a few more deeds achieved by Hiccup's father, and truth to be told it had done nothing to satisfy Varian's curiosity.

Dragons were mentioned in the text as a sort of unbeatable evil, with every Chief bearing the number of beasts they'd felled by the time they retired, and Varian sees no trace of that on the current Hoolingans, as he's come to learn they're named. 

It also didn't mention a thing about the current Chief, Varian thinks with a huff as he turns a corner, committing the location of the armory to memory.

The sound of hammering on metal catches his attention, and he stops. Only a couple steps down an open door lets out firelight into the night, and he considers it.

A smithy would be a good target, if only to dismantle so the Vikings lose resources needed to chase and catch them again, and in the best case scenario there could be valuable metals and solutions Varian could use.

He moves towards it, measuring his weight carefully so that each step makes no noise in the quiet darkness and ignoring the flutter of the watch dragon's wings.

The sight that awaits him when he leans around the threshold to peek inside is definitely not what he expected, but not at all unwelcomed.

The lean, taut muscles in Hiccup's back ripple with movement as he hammers down on red hot blade laid over an anvil, sending sparks flying to die against his heavy leather apron.

Varian's eyebrows arch as he takes in the view. The man looks very different without his armor on, after all. 

His arms are slim and firm, well defined with wiry chords of muscle. The entirety of his torso and back -Varian is by no means am expert on blacksmithing, and he's pleasantly surprised to discover that a shirt is apparently optional- is peppered with scars and burn marks contrasting Stark white against his tanned skin.

Hiccup lifts a gloved hand to rub his forearm over his forehead, and Varian watches as a droplet of sweat escapes the onslaught and runs all the way down the side of his face and into the dip of his collarbone. The man is handsome at all times, but now that he's focused on his work and unaware that he's being watched Hiccup looks enthralling.

Varian has made it no secret to anyone including himself that he's attracted to the man. Hell, the original delay in the escape plans had been because Varian decided he was going to get at least a good kiss and a handjob out of the man before he left, as soon as he saw him on his knees before his cell.

He's never been a feelings person. The pesky things complicated everything and can take the fun out of even the best casual fuck, and he knows better than to let them even whisper in his ear. Hiccup is objectively attractive, and Varian is going to do something about that before they leave. 

His eyes fall then on the heavy white bandages covering the side of Hiccup's torso, where a few days ago he was holding guts and blood in, and something heavy and bitter sets in his stomach.

It will no doubt make for another impressive scar in due time, but for now it's a reminder that this idiot of a man was almost killed unfairly, along with innocent people, for Varian. A brand that bears witness to how his mere presence, locked up and all, had been enough to end lives AND-

A big, round and black head comes into his field of vision, obscuring the rest of the smithy and forcing Varian to look into a pair of slit pupils

"Fuck!" He yells on reflex, throwing himself away from the door. The dragon follows with bared teeth, but there's a chittering sound by Varian's feet, and they both turn to see Ruddiger staring up at them like the dragon couldn't devour him in a single bite.

Varian stiffens and readies himself to reach for one of his stolen knives in case the beast attempts to attack the raccoon.

"Toothless? Whatcha got there budd- Varian?" Hiccup walks in from behind the dragon, who seems to decide Ruddiger is a respectable enough rival and backs down with a nod. Animals are weird, Varian thinks in an attempt to distract himself of the smell of sweat and ash and metal radiating from the man before him. "What are you doing out?"

"I was not aware I wasn't allowed to be out" Varian replies. His tone is neutral, his eyes bored. It's a façade he wore often in Corona, when forced to interact with other noble kids "I have my guardian with me" he gestures back to the small black dragon sitting on a roosting post.

"Of course you're allowed, I mean as long as you don't leave the village or do something bad- you're not stealing stuff are you?" Hiccup frowns down at him. There's a strip of soot running down the line of his chin and Varian wants to trace it with his tongue.

 

"You're welcome to search me, as always" and he winks an eye at the man, delighting in the way his face goes a shade of red it hadn't achieved by standing in front of a furnace for who knows how long. "I wouldn't dare stealing from you, even if I didn't make that clear when I saved your life, you've been more than... Generous with us" he adds, using the pause to look pointedly up and down Hiccup's figure.

The dragon looks up at his rider, then at Varian with an unimpressed stare Varian wouldn't have thought possible of a reptile.

"Are you here just to mess with me? Because-" Hiccup starts, but Varian cuts him with a raised hand.

"Merely appreciating the view of the village at night. What are you working on?" He asks. Fun as it is to make Hiccup flustered, Varian would like to go see the docks tonight.

"Oh, a new axe for Astrid" Hiccup responds much too quickly. At first Varian thinks this is due to his embarrassment, but the man looks pleased to be talking about his project. It's endearing, really. "Hers got dented during the attack. I fixed it for her, but I think she deserves a new one. One that's all her own" he adds the last part in a mutter, like an afterthought.

"Adorable" Varian rolls his eyes "And really well thought too, give the psychopath more weapons"

Hiccup chuckles "She's perfectly nice if you don't try anything funny, Varian"

"Hiccup dearest. What's life without trying anything fun?" Varian smirks. He snaps his fingers, and Ruddiger climbs up his side to rest on his shoulders. "I'll leave you to it. Delightful as it is to watch you work, I'd like to see more of your little town"

"I- you were watching me work?" Hiccup frowns as Varian begins to walk away, and he looks at him over a shoulder.

"I did say I came out for the view, Chief" he says with another wink. "The one thing worth looking at in this town is under that apron, if you ask me"

He leaves to the satisfying sound of stuttering at the forge.

 

**8.3 The wise is destined to be ignored by the fools**

"So you have come to me for advice at last" Tuff nods. It's taken Hiccup nearly a week to come see him, but he's willing to forgive him because he was like... Deadly injured and all that.

"No, I have come to you because I want the stuff you stole from my forge last night" Hiccup says with an eyeroll.

"Excuse me?" Tuff still pats the space next to him on the bench. They're gonna have a talk, one way or another. "I was at home with Chicken last night"

"Tuff I saw you snatch my forging shirt and my wooden mallet and run off" Hiccup frowns, as it all clicks up in Tuff's mind.

"Ah. That was my idiot sister, she thinks she can look like me if she braids her hair like my beard" he explains, caressing the coarse, strong hair at his chin "looks like even you fell for it, mighty leader"

"... She can look like you however, you're twins" Hiccup shakes his head "anyways, why would Ruff take my shirt and mallet?"

"No idea. You'll have to ask her" Tuff shrugs. He knows really well, even if Ruff hadn't told him Varian was apparently taking walks at night and getting closer and closer to Hiccup's forge by the day. He knows his sister "Anyways. What's up with the pirates? Why did we give them a house and stuff?"

"Well... I couldn't set them free? But it still felt like I had to do something to pay them back for what they did for the town" Hiccup explains, and he takes a hand to rub at the back of his neck. "They could've left, and instead they stayed to help"

Tuff scoffs "I don't know about the others, but Varian isn't leaving in a while at least"

"Uh. Why? Did you hear anything? Is he planning something?" Hiccup asks. He's leaning towards Tuff with each question, his eyes alight with interest and his attention clearly piqued. "What does he want?"

"For Loki's sake you're supposed to be the smart one aren't you?" This time it's Tuff that rolls his eyes. "What I've been hearing since we brought them in three months ago is that the guy wants to climb your bones. Honestly I thought you'd caught on by now"

This makes hiccup turn the color of Hookfang's scales and retreat into his own space.

"Well I know that!" He snaps, averting his eyes from Tuff's "He hasn't exactly been subtle about it"

"It's not like you put a lot of effort into stopping him huh?" Tuff grins, and if possible Hiccup goes even redder.

"Tuff don't be ridiculous, I can't sleep with a prisoner! And a murderer! It's wrong, even if I wanted to-"

"You don't want to?" 

"He's a _murderer_!" Hiccup yells at him. It's so fun to rile him up.

Tuff lifts his hands in surrender "Listen man, my Patron is chaos, I wouldn't judge you" he says "Just saying, he's not leaving anytime soon. If you really want to get it out of him where he comes from, maybe you should consider some different tactics"

"I'm not going to sleep with him for information Tuff"

"Well, maybe he's not an exclusive kind of guy" Tuff shrugs. He's known the type, he's one of them himself. "Ask Eret to do it"

It's absolutely _priceless_ , the way Hiccup chokes on literally nothing, and his face that had regained its usual color goes flush again.

"Why would- Eret?!" He sputters "Why would you even think Eret would even be interested in men?!"

"Listen Hiccup, my sister may look like a cave troll to me, but my face and hers by extension was modeled by Freya herself and if Eret doesn't find her beautiful it's because he's into something else" Tuff says solemnly, and lays a hand on Hiccup's shoulder "also because I saw you two making out behind the stables that one time"

Perhaps he should stop before he kills the village's Chief, but it's Tuffnut's role to deliver the harsh truths. 

It takes Hiccup several minutes to regain any semblance of calm and his words. Tuff holds him through it, as a good second in command would.

"I'm not- that's ridiculous!" Hiccup's voice is strained "I'm not going to ask Eret to sleep with Varian for information!"

"I didn't think you and Eret actually had like. A thing" Tuff arches an eyebrow

"We don't" Hiccup groans "It was a one time thing. We're friends"

"Then what's wrong with it? Eret wouldn't mind"

"No but _I_ would!"

Tuff grins "Because of Varian?"

It's then that Hiccup turns on his heel and leaves the hut, slamming the door behind him.

"I don't look like a cave troll, you dragon fart" Ruff comes down the stairs redoing her braids for the day. 

"You're horrid. And our Chief is very stupid"

"We'll get him there" Ruff shrugs "Just make sure Astrid doesn't notice us doing this stuff, I don't have a death wish"

"Your face is a death wish"

**8.4 The call of the void**

Technically, he should be resting. 

However the feeling of uselessness is suffocating, and after spending the whole day locked up doing chief stuff, he had to get out. He tries to go to the forge at first, but Toothless snarls a warning just as Hiccup is stuffing the pit with coals.

Astrid has been on the prowl for the last few nights, and he just escaped her by the teeth of his skin the time Varian came to see him.

She'll be pissed off if she finds out he's here doing extenuating activity, so he quickly shuts down the door and leaves through the back.

Toothless chirps, landing by his side and nudging his healthy rib.

"You're the best sentinel bud" says Hiccup, giving him a scratch behind the ears "now where do you want to... Go?"

It's then that he catches a glimpse of black hair and a boot disappearing behind a corner. He turns to look at Toothless, who's staring at him with unimpressed eyes.

"What?" He asks. The dragon tilts his head in what Hiccup knows is blatant accusation "Not you too, come on! I just have to make sure he's not pulling something shady"

Toothless grumbles.

"Ah shut up" Hiccup smacks the dragon's muzzle before following after the sneaking shadow.

When he catches up with him, Varian has reached the limits of Berk, and Hiccup watches him for a moment.

The moon is shining brightly over the blue bang falling on his forehead, and when he turns Hiccup noticed he's tied his hair in a ponytail that exposes the back of his neck.

His skin is pale and smooth, almost glowing in the dark with the reflection of the moonlight, and his eyes are narrowed as he runs his gaze down over the forest floor, before he kneels down to dig at the ground with a gloved finger.

"What are you doing?" Hiccup asks. Varian doesn't flinch or turn, merely keeps poking at the dirt with his pointer finger.

"Waiting to see when you'd stop pretending to be subtle"

Over him on the top of a tree Hiccup hears the unmistakable sound of Toothless' growling cackles.

"I didn't think I had to sneak around in my own village" Hiccup crosses his arms over his chest, ignoring the heat in his cheeks. Sure, with his prosthetic and all stealth had never been his forte, but he wasn't as noisy as Snout.

"You don't" Varian turns to look at him over his shoulder, and Hiccup's stomach flips over itself. "All you had to do was ask Hiccup, I would _love_ your company tonight"

"Sure you would" Hiccup huffs. Varian smirks.

"That's why I said it" and he climbs to his feet. "I'm collecting minerals and herbs. You may come with me if you want"

And he walks into the woods without another look or word.

Hiccup follows then, because Varian is his prisoner and also a foreigner that has no idea whether or not he's stepping too close to a Typhoomerang's nest, and mostly because he doesn't need to justify himself for going after him when he was clearly invited thank you very much.

They walk in silence for a few minutes, Hiccup merely staring as Varian gathers random stones and scratches at them lightly with a tree sided metallic pick, after which he either drops them or pockets them.

Varian looks focused, like Hiccup's presence is barely registering, let alone bothering him, and it's mesmerizing to watch. His face is relaxed and devoid of the perpetual sneer or sarcastic eyebrow or smirk that's present anytime he looks at Hiccup, focused only on his work. His thin lips are pursed in concentration, and the tip of his tongue peeks out between them.

He really is a thing of beauty, Hiccup decides. With his soft black hair and his smooth skin with the dusted freckles on his cheekbones, and his blue eyes that look like they absorb the moonlight. There's a burn in the pit of his stomach, because well... This man _wants_ him, he's made that clear. This beautiful, brilliant, dangerous creature would be his gladly, if Hiccup said the word.

Just like it happened with Astrid so many years ago, it feels odd and thrilling to be desired by someone like them.

 _"You should ask Eret to do it then, he wouldn't mind"_ comes Tuffnut's voice in his mind, and he frowns.

"Is- uh. Is the house to your liking?" Hiccup asks suddenly. Varian stops short and turns to look quizzically at him. "I mean I know it's not the fanciest, but I expect it's at least comfortable?"

"It's comfortable enough, yes" Varian nods. "There's many things I would've chosen over it in return for our help during the raid, but I appreciate the gesture. It's nice to have a place of our own, and to be able to move mostly freely"

Hiccup sighs. "You didn't expect me to set you free did you?"

Varian shrugs. The thin fabric of his nightshirt slides the slightest bit over his shoulder, exposing a few more inches of neck.

"Not for a second. Though I must admit I find it really annoying that you're so focused on playing judge and jury for crimes that didn't affect you and that you weren't there to witness"

"But you did commit them" Hiccup says. Both their voices are muted, like they don't want to be overheard or disturb the calm of the woods. It feels like they're sharing a secret.

"And who gave you the right to judge others Hiccup?" Varian takes a step towards him, his hand grazing Hiccup's when it swings with his movement. "To decide what's right and wrong? You don't know a thing about my life, but you would be happy to hand me over to be executed, if I told you where I'm wanted"

All around them the forest's sounds seem to have vanished, and Hiccup feels his heartbeat speeding at their proximity. Perhaps he's not interested in sleeping with Varian for convenience or information, but having him this close feels like the first time he saw Toothless in daylight. 

"Nothing justifies killing and pillaging, Varian" he says in the end. Varian looks up at him and there's amusement in his eyes, Hiccup notes. He looks like a puzzle, like a secret incarnate. A story told by firelight to keep you dreaming until dawn.

"It's a living. Me and my crew, we take jobs when people find us. Other than that we're happy enough to live at sea. Free" Varian says. He brings a hand up to rest the tip of his pointer on Hiccup's chest. "Are you going to hunt down anyone who's ever paid for me to kill?"

"Gold is not the only reason you kill" Hiccup doesn't attempt to shake the hand off his chest, and it feels much heavier than it could logically be. "Is it?"

"Survival" Varian leans closer. Hiccup can feel his breathing on his chin, and there's something unspeakably heavy in his eyes. "Revenge"

"Which one was it? When you took down Tannverk's ships" Hiccup doesn't know why this is important to him. Whatever the reason, those people are at the bottom of the sea and Varian is the one that put them there, but still there's something that compels him to ask. 

Varian stares at him for a moment, his eyes digging into Hiccup's very soul as if questioning his motives as well.

"The first, sadly" Varian sighs after a while. "We'd gotten stuck in two unexpected storms that pulled us off route, and we were out of provisions. It was them or us"

"You couldn't have traded with them for food and water? Did you have to kill them?" 

At this Varian's lips curl into a crooked smile, and the hand on Hiccup's chest balls into a fist and smacks him softly. 

"Don't be ridiculous. You and your riders attacked my crew while I slept, because you happened to come to the surprisingly correct conclusion that we were pirates" he says. Hiccup blinks. If Varian had actually been torn from bed by their assault, the way he fought them off and effectively flipped the raid on its side was even more impressive. "There was always going to be a fight, and if there's something I'm good at, it's surviving"

"I can see that" Hiccup mutters. Varian shakes his head with a chuckle that sounds more sad than mirthful.

"You have no idea Hiccup" 

**8.5 I'll drag you down, if I have to drown with you**

Torch's enormous tail taps against the ground when Valka approaches, and she takes the time to pat the dragon's muzzle before pushing the door open. 

She walks in without a sound, like tiptoeing around the baby dragons when she didn't want them up. The members of the crew are out and about; Cloudjumper is tailing the girl, Astrid is at the sparring fields with the skinny man and the other big one seems to have taken control over their kitchens. All the better for her.

One of the steps squeaks as she climbs to the second floor, but there's no movement when she reaches the top.

He's asleep in one of the cots, covered with a heavy blanket. Makes sense he rests during the day, considering he's taken to roaming the village at night. With Hiccup.

Even when Valka steps all the way up to his side, he does not rise. She doesn't know the pirate to be either trusting or stupid, so maybe his schedule had been taking a higher toll on him than he expected. 

He looks almost innocent as he sleeps, harmless really. Valka allows herself a second of guilt before resting the serrated edge of her staff against his throat, and kicking the cot.

"Morning" she greets him dryly, when his eyes fly open in a second. "Had a long night?"

Varian attempts to get up, but ceases when he feels the sharpened dragon teeth against his skin. 

"What are you doing here?!" He asks. 

"I'm going to have a talk with you" Valka digs the staff a little deeper against his neck. "And you're going to listen"

"Does your son even know you're here?" Varian asks again, though he's smart enough to lay flat against the mattress 

"He doesn't. Because I'm going to talk about him actually" Valka makes no move to get closer to the cot, and Varian makes no move to get out. They're frozen in a tense tableau with Torch's eye peeking in through the window. "I don't know who you are-"

"Well-"

" **and** I don't care" Valka stops his lame attempt at an interruption merely by pressing down on his throat. "I don't know where you come from, or what your plans are. Again, I do not care. But I've seen how you look at my son"

Just like that, Varian's eyes grow cold and guarded, his face a mask designed to not let emotions out. He does not speak.

"I see you at night, pirate. Stalking around the village, looking for things to steal. I want to make it very clear to you that Hiccup is not one of them" she leans over, careful to not pull harshly on the staff, but not minding the way Varian's breathing becomes even more labored. "I don't know and I don't care, what your tricks have gotten you before. My son is not one of your toys. He's noble and good and so much better than you, and not even all the muck in your person is enough to make him falter"

The corner of Varian's eye twitches at that. Valka senses she struck a nerve, and her lips curl into a smile. She might still be able to keep her son safe from this predator.

"I know you're using him. I know you're trying to convince him he's tamed you, but I know a venomous beast when I see one" she adds "you worry about Astrid, Varian, but it's me who's going to feed the dragons with your corpse, if I think you're stepping out of line. Tread carefully"

She straightens up, and lifts the staff from his neck. Varian doesn't move, or look at her. Good. Valka turns on her heel, and marches back down the stairs and out into the street without a look back.

**8.6 Cooking is not an exact science**

More often than not, one has to go with their gut. 

It's one of the reasons Hans formally got a job at the kitchens -or as formally as it can be when you're still technically a prisoner- and uses his spare time not to look for places to loot but to get to know the island and the villagers.

Predicting Varian's actions is as difficult as predicting the sea's, and often -Cain can attest to that from the bottom of the ocean- just as catastrophic.

Still, something in his gut tells him they're not leaving in two weeks.

"Where's the Captain?" Bìhn asks as he closes the front door to the hut behind him. He has a nice roll of furs slung over his shoulder, more than enough for some blankets and a coat for Annie.

"Already out. He's probably found the Chief by now" Hans shrugs. He places a steaming pot of stew on the table. Annie's at the bathhouses, and should be back soon. 

"Yeah, smart of him honestly" Bìhn says and shrugs the fur off. "That way we have a direct eye on how well he's recovering and if we're going to have to escape sooner"

Hans groans. 

Bìhn is not an idiot, by a long shot. Sure, he learned to scream "guard's coming!" before he learned to walk and he has never been ten feet from a school, much less seen the inside of one.  
Still, the man speaks at least four languages with enough fluency to get them contacts with people at the underbelly of every port they touch.

Yet he seems to genuinely not realize what's going on here.

"What?" Bìhn asks with a frown. He reaches to dunk a bowl in the stew pot and Hans smacks his hand with a wooden spoon. "What's gotten into you?"

"You do know he's not staking the Chief out for strategic data right?" Hans asks. Bìhn's frown deepens, and he would cry in the stew if it wouldn't ruin it.

"You think he finally convinced him to fuck?" He asks "That would certainly explain why he's in a better mood lately, I can't remember a single person that lasted this long when the Captain wanted them"

Well. At least that's a step in the right direction.

"It's not just-" Hans starts, but then the door flies open and both are jumping to their feet.

"Is dinner ready?" Annie kicks the door closed behind her, and turns "Whoa, no need to be so tense you two"

"I mean, we _are_ in a hostile village" Bìhn grumbles "Now come here, mama hen was making us wait for you"

Annie coos at Hans, but she comes over and hands him a jug of mead before sitting at the table.

"Traded it for some sweetbread I made. Thought you might like it" she says, before turning to roll her eyes at Bìhn who's already dishing out three bowls of stew. "Come on. With Hiccup making lamb eyes whenever Varian shows up? I'd be more worried of the traitors coming back and killing us than a single Hooligan raising a hand against us"

And well, Hans thinks, at least someone here has some sense.

"Cap's got him wrapped around his finger right?" Bìhn says mid spoonful. "Hans thinks they ain't fucking yet"

Hans sighs, and shakes his head at Annie when she turns to him with a disbelieving look.

Cooking is not an exact science, but the meal won't be ready until it decides it's ready.

**8.7 A promise**

Dagur wakes up, and knows with a single look at Mala that his wife is not getting up.

"Love, are you doing alright?" He asks carefully. She looks pale and sweaty, and the only reason Dagur hasn't gone running to fetch a healer is the way she's clinging to his hand. 

Mala shakes her head, and the motion seems to make her even more nauseous, because her face begins taking a greenish hue.

Dagur's brain is racing. Mala is the Queen. Her people are loyal, but an assassination attempt is not impossible. Laying on his bed with his wife shaking by his side Dagur decides he will raze Caldera Cay to the ground, if she does not wake up tomorrow.

"Dagur, I need-" she starts, and it's as far as she gets. She retches, and Dagur moves as fast as he can, to turn her on her side and let her be sick on the floor. Her body feels frail, not a word he'd ever considered for her, but as she trembles and convulses with the strength of her retching, he cannot help but wonder what sort of vile poison they have her, that is draining her warrior queen from the inside. "That's... That's much better" she says after she's done, her voice strained and wet-sounding.

"I will go get Leech" Dagur kisses her sweaty, cold temple. Leech is their best healer, he will know how to purge Mala of this illness. If he doesn't, the Gods can attempt to shield him from Dagur's fury. "Just wait-"

"Don't leave" Mala mutters, and Dagur freezes on his spot. Perhaps it's too late and she knows, and all she wants is to die in his arms. "The moon did not touch me this month"

The silence that follows her words is so dense Dagur can hear the hushed rumbling of the Great Protector down at the Cay.

"And-" he's almost too afraid to ask, and his voice breaks a little with hope and fear and other emotions he had never felt before "- and the month before?"

The rest of her face looks dull and sick, but her eyes are two stars shining intently up at him. 

"No"

Their second in command finds them an hour or so later after they don't show for breakfast, curled into a hug in a dark room that smells of sickness, laughing and crying and holding each other like they're going to disappear.

She decides, quite wisely if you ask her, to close the door quietly, and arrange that the Queen and her Consort are left free for the rest of the day.

**8.8 Dragons come in all sizes**

When he finds him, the little grey dragon is dozing off in the sun, with a small sentinel by his side.

Toothless approaches carefully, one step at a time. He's met the sharp end of the little one's claws once, and for all that his scales are tough, he'd rather not do it again. 

The little one's ears twitch at his steps, and a pointy wet nose turns to face him. Toothless waits.

He freezes on his spot, and lays close to the ground. 

There is no fight to be had here. Hiccup smells of moonlight more often than not every morning, and Toothless has come to accept it, if not like it.

With a small twitch of his nose, the little one raises to his feet, and takes a step closer. Toothless remains still. This dragon is soft and smart, and would be perfect to play tag with and-

A tiny paw lands on his snout, and Toothless smiles. Small's ears twitch in his direction, and he knows what it means.

They don't need silly noises to understand each other like humans do. Growls and snarls are punctuation marks, and what Small is saying is pretty clear.

He curls over himself on the ground and looks expectantly at Small. Usually he'd prefer to hang, but for the sake of cementing this new pact he's willing to forego his favorite sleeping position.

Small climbs over his forepaw to get to his back, and they get ready to nap the afternoon away. As allies.

**8.9 Sculpture is just chipping away at a big dumb block because you thing there's something nice in there**

"Did you notice Toothless is like... Best friends with the racoon now?" Astrid asks as she pulls Stormfly's saddle off the hook on the wall.

It's rare that both she and Hiccup have a moment off together to run maintenance on their equipment, but since he's still injured she saw fit to take the evening off and keep him sitting on his ass for once.

"Yeah. I mean you know Toothless likes smaller dragons, and the raccoon is not afraid of him. For some reason" Hiccup is struggling a little with carrying Toothless' much heavier saddle, so Astrid takes it from him. The last thing she needs is for him to reopen his wound. "that thing is way too brave for a little rat"

"Just like his owner huh?" Astrid smirks.

Hiccup laughs, and the genuine humor in his cackles brings out hers. It's not always that she can come up with the witty comments in this friendship, but when she does they're great. 

"I get the feeling he wouldn't be too happy to hear you say that" he says

"He wouldn't be happy to hear me speak at all" Astrid rolls her eyes with a lingering smile "but I believe you, you seem to be getting to know him real well"

Hiccup looks up at her like a deer faced with a dragon, and she smirks. The biggest secret he ever kept from her was Toothless, and this is nothing compared to-

"I know I know, I shouldn't be going on walks at night. I'm just worried he's going to trip into a nest or something, I mean he's technically under my protection" Hiccup says, shrugging. "Sometimes we talk a little to fill the silence"

"A nest" Astrid says, arching an eyebrow. She can see Hiccup growing steadily pink, but he's looking down at the saddle so she doesn't comment on it, and merely goes back to her own work.

"Tuff thinks I should ask Eret to sleep with him" Hiccup mumbles a few minutes later. Astrid blinks.

"... I know this is Tuff but I fail to see how even he could think that would help this situation. Whatever would Eret sleep with Varian for?" She asks.

Her incredulity at the idea seems to embolden him, because he straightens up and looks at her finally.

"Right? Tuff thinks if we give Varian the lover he's looking for, he'll give us the information we want"

Astrid rolls her eyes at this "I'm not defending the weasel, but he's far too smart to give out information that will have him hanging for something as simple as that, you men put way too much value in cocks" she says "besides, Eret is not the lover Varian wants"

"No he isn't" It takes a moment before Hiccup responds, but when he does there's the tiniest hint of a smirk in his lips, and Astrid breaks down laughing like a madwoman.

"Oh you're so smug!" She says once she regains her breath enough to speak "You _like_ that he's into you!"

"I happen to like when beautiful people find me attractive, so far is two for two" he says with a wink back at her that only makes her laugh harder "come on, you can hardly blame me for enjoying the ego boost"

"I would never begrudge you that" she says, throwing a polishing rag at him "for real though, what do you think of him? Pretty face aside"

Hiccup goes quiet at that, and the mood I the workshop gets steadily heavier as the seconds tick by.

"He's... Very interesting" he says at last. "And he told me- well you're not going to believe this, but he told me they didn't mean to attack Tannverk's ships"

"Bullshit"

"I thought so too" Hiccup shrugs "but he didn't plan on attacking them. He just said they _had_ to attack them because they were low on provisions"

"Huh" is all she says after a moment. "I mean you could always ask the crew. Hans would tell you, even if the others don't. He's a good egg"

"He's a pirate"

"He hounds people when they're not eating enough for his liking, he's a different sort of pirate" she huffs "but go ahead, don't confirm what your pretty lying weasel tells you"

Out the corner of her eye, she sees Hiccup smile. She hates that smile. The one that makes her feel like Hiccup is looking into all the things she was too coward to voice.

"I'll be ok" he says in the end "I know what he wants from me, and he's not fooling me"

"Great" says Astrid after a moment "that shrimp touches my oddball of a chief, and I'm going to make him eat his tongue in pieces"

"Aw"


End file.
